At least 19 people were killed in a suicide attack at an education centre in Kabul where hundreds of students were preparing for university entrance exams on Friday morning.
The attack happened at the Kaj Education Centre in Dasht-e-Barchi, a mainly Hazara area in the west of the Afghan capital.
“Two suicide attackers entered the centre and killed two male and a female guard at the main gate. One of them blew himself up at the girls' section,” Mohammad Taqi, a teacher who survived the attack, told The National.
“Most of those killed are our girl students, while many male students are injured. In addition, at least one teacher is wounded.”
Kabul police said 19 people were killed and 27 others injured, but Mr Taqi and other witnesses said the number of casualties could be much higher.
Mr Taqi said there were about 500 students at the centre when the attackers struck.
“Casualties are high but we don't know the exact number,” he said.
Hospitals in the area said they were instructed by the Taliban authorities not to share information.
Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: “Necessary measures will be taken to find and punish the perpetrators of this attack”.
Security teams were sent to the scene to investigate, said Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafy Takor.
Social media footage showed bloodied victims being carried away from the scene.
Ghulm Sadiq, a resident of the area, said he was at home when he heard a loud noise and went outside to see smoke rising from the centre.
“My friends and I were able to move around 15 wounded and nine dead bodies from the explosion site,” Mr Sadiq told Reuters.
“Other bodies were lying under chairs and tables inside the classroom.”
A hospital source said 23 people had been killed, while a Taliban source said 33 people had died.
Relatives of the pupils rushed to hospitals in the area, where ambulances were arriving with victims, and lists of the dead and wounded were posted on the walls.
“We didn't find her here,” a woman looking for her sister told AFP at one of the hospitals.
“She was 19 years old.
“We are calling her but she's not responding.”
The Taliban forced relatives to move away from one hospital for fear of a follow-up attack on the crowd outside.
Unicef Afghanistan said it was appalled by the attack, which was also condemned by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the US, German and Iranian embassies.
“Violence in or around education establishments is never acceptable,” Unicef said.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a steady stream of violence since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan just over a year ago.
ISIS, a rival of the Taliban, has attacked mosques and worshippers, especially members of Afghanistan’s Shiite community.
Dasht-e-Barchi has been the scene of numerous attacks in recent years.
Six people were killed at a high school in the area in April. In May last year, 85 died in a bombing at a girls' school in the area.
In May 2020, gunmen killed 24 women and children at a Medecins Sans Frontieres maternity ward in Dasht-e-Barchi.
Afghanistan’s Hazara minority are often prime targets of terror attacks and face persecution from both ISIS and the Taliban.
“We are continuously targeted at our mosques and our education centres but no one cares much about us,” Ali Reza, a resident of Dasht-e-Barchi, told The National.
The years Ramadan fell in May
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1 Dh5,000,000 1,600m
Winner: Mashhur Al Khalediah, Jean-Bernard Eyquem, Phillip Collington.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
