At least 48 killed, 67 injured in suicide attack on Kabul school

KABUL: A suicide attack on an educational centre in Kabul has left at least 48 people dead and 67 injured. The death toll is likely to rise, according to Afghanistani officials. Most of those who have been killed or injured are students.

The attack took place at the Mawoud Educational Academy in the Dasht-e-Barchi locality of Kabul's PD-18 area, Afghanistani news media reported. Reports say the attack happened just after 4 pm local time. The Taliban have reportedly denied their involvement in the attack.

Reports say there were about 100 students in the classroom at the time of the attack. It has been estimated that the average age of the students was about 18. They are all said to be high school graduates who were studying for their university entrance examinations. The classroom was not segregated, and there were both male and female students inside at the time of the attack.

However, other organisations online have been quick to point out that the attack could have sectarian motives. The suicide bomb was set off in a Shia-run institution in what some media characterised as an area of Kabul with a high Shia and Hazara population.

Images on social media show mayhem in what seems to be a classroom. The pictures show that the roof of the room has collapsed.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health has confirmed to local media that at least 48 have been killed and more than 67 have been injured.

Friends and relatives of the students who attended the educational centre rushed to hospitals surrounding the area in search of their family members or for information on them.