18 killed in IS attack at Kabul education centre

A suicide bomber struck near an education centre in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 18 people in an attack claimed by the extremist Islamic State that rocked the conflict-wracked country.

Violence on the ground has spiked in recent weeks despite
the Taliban and the Afghan government holding peace talks in Qatar to end the
country’s grinding war.

The suicide attack, which also left 57 wounded, happened in
the late afternoon at the centre in a western district of Kabul, which
offers training and higher education courses.

“A suicide bomber wanted to enter the education
centre,” interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said in a statement.

“But he was identified by the centre’s guards, after
which he detonated his explosives in an alley.”

He confirmed the attack had killed 18 people and wounded 57.

The extremist Islamic State group subsequently claimed
responsibility for the attack.

A suicide bomber “set off towards a gathering…
in Kabul, where he detonated his explosives jacket” in the crowd, IS
said in a statement posted on its social media channels.

Witness Ali Reza said the blast sent dust and smoke swirling
all around him.

“I was standing about 100 metres from the centre when a
big blast knocked me down,” said Reza, who had gone to hospital with his
cousin, who was wounded in the blast.

“Dust and smoke were all around me. All those killed
and wounded were students who wanted to enter the centre.”

Residents later gathered at the site where pools of dried
blood could be seen where the bomber had detonated his explosives-laden vest.

Residents in several districts of western Kabul belong
to the minority Shiite Hazara community, and are often targeted by Sunni
extremists of IS.

– ‘World must take notice’ –

In the past, extremists have targeted several education
centres and other facilities in the area.

In May, a group of gunmen launched a brazen daylight attack
on a hospital in west Kabul that left several mothers dead. The
gunmen were shot dead after hours of fighting with security forces.

Washington blamed IS for that attack.

Saturday’s suicide attack came hours after a roadside bomb
tore through a bus east of the capital, killing nine civilians. Officials
blamed that explosion on the Taliban.

On Friday, rights group Amnesty International said at least
50 people had been killed in attacks in the preceding week, accusing both the
Taliban and the government of failing to protect civilians.

“The world must sit up and take notice. Afghan
civilians are being slaughtered on a daily basis,” said Omar Waraich,
Amnesty’s head of South Asia.

“The international community must make the protection
of civilians a core demand for their ongoing support of the peace
process.”

Despite holding peace talks with government negotiators in
Doha since last month, the Taliban have only increased violence, in a bid to
wield leverage at the bargaining table.

The top US envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said earlier
this week that fighting was threatening the peace process.

US influence over Afghanistan’s battlegrounds is on the
wane, however, with the Pentagon looking to withdraw all its remaining troops
by next May.

The Taliban have been quick to exploit the apparent lack of
resolve, and began to push for fresh military gains as soon as they signed a
withdrawal deal with the US in February.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/global/2020/10/18-killed-in-is-attack-at-kabul-education-centre/