Afghanistan: Islamic State Terror Attack on Kabul University Kills 22

Gunmen stormed Afghanistan’s Kabul University on Monday, killing at least 22 people, including students. The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack, which Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called a “despicable act of terror.”

Three armed militants stormed the university on Monday morning, firing on and killing students as they sat in their classrooms. Some students were shot as they tried to flee the attack, according to witnesses. A senior Afghan government official shared photos to social media appearing to show “students lying dead in classrooms, some next to their books. One student appeared to have been shot as he was climbing out of a window,” Reuters reported.

“They were shooting at every student they saw. … They even shot at the students who were running away,” witness Fathullah Moradi told the news agency.

The assault began on Monday morning and lasted six hours. It ended after Afghan security forces, with the assistance of international security forces, killed “all of the three militants … during the combat and rescue operation,” Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported.

Amaq News Agency, which is linked to Islamic State, reported on Monday that the jihadist terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Afghan President Ghani once lectured at Kabul University. He released a video message on Monday announcing a national day of mourning to honor the victims of the terror attack. Ghani said he offered his “condolences and profound sympathies to the nation” and the victims’ families.

“My heart is still beating for this academic institution,” he said.

“Today’s attack has left us grief-stricken,” Ghani added.

Monday’s attack marked the second such targeting of an educational institution in Afghanistan’s capital in just over one week.

“I strongly condemn today’s tragic attack on Kabul University. This is the second attack on educational institutions in Kabul in 10 days. Afghan children & youth need to feel safe going to school,” NATO Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan Stefano Pontecorvo wrote in a Twitter statement.

A suicide bomber killed “at least 30 people, most of them young and teenage students,” after detonating an explosive device at an education center in Kabul on October 24, according to Khaama Press. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for the attack.

Afganistan’s Taliban terror group issued a statement on Monday condemning the attack on Kabul University and denying any involvement in the incident. The jihadi terror group is currently participating in ongoing peace negotiations with the Afghan government in Doha, Qatar.