Death toll from Afghan blast reaches 48

World Wednesday 15/August/2018 20:03 PM
By: Times News Service
Death toll from Afghan blast reaches 48

Kabul: A suicide blast in Kabul killed at least 48 people on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians, soldiers and policemen over recent days.
The explosion, targeting an educational centre in the west of the Afghan capital, tore through a large tent set up as a classroom in the courtyard, killing dozens of teenagers studying for a university entrance examination. The blast, which shattered weeks of relative calm in Kabul, also wounded at least 67, including both male and female students.
"Most of the boys at the educational centre have been killed," said Sayed Ali, who witnessed the blast. "It was horrific and many of the students were torn to pieces."
Doctors at city hospitals, where people had gathered to try to find relatives who had been studying at the centre, said many of the victims were severely burned.
"My brother was studying at the centre and he was killed. I'm here to get his body," said Abdul Khaliq, waiting outside the Isteqlal hospital.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Kabul blast but the attack bore the hallmark of IS, which has conducted many previous attacks on Shi'ite targets. The Taliban issued a statement denying it was involved.