An explosion at a school in western Kabul has reportedly injured several people, with students believed to make up most of those affected.
The blast occurred at around 4:30pm local time on Monday in the Dasht-e-Barchi area, a neighbourhood predominantly inhabited by Afghanistan’s Hazara minority.
Local reports said the explosion happened at the Shama-e Hidayat school and educational institution in the Mahdia neighbourhood. Eyewitnesses reported seeing injured students being taken to Alami Hospital for treatment.
The exact number of casualties and the cause of the explosion remain unclear. Reports from Kabul Now and TOLOnews suggested that the blast may have been caused by a hand grenade, but the information has not been independently verified.
Footage circulating online showed crowds gathered around ambulances near the reported site of the explosion.
Neither the Taliban authorities nor other government officials had publicly commented on the incident at the time of the report. It is also unclear whether anyone was killed.
The incident is particularly significant because Dasht-e-Barchi is home to many members of Afghanistan’s Hazara community, which has previously been targeted by ISIL’s Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K). The group has carried out attacks against Hazara communities and targeted schools, mosques and other civilian locations.
