Key facts
- A hand grenade attack occurred near a school in Kabul, Afghanistan.
- Multiple children were wounded in the blast.
- The incident took place in a neighborhood predominantly inhabited by the Hazara ethnic minority.
- The UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan condemned the attack.
- An investigation into the attack is ongoing.
A hand grenade attack near a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday afternoon wounded multiple children, authorities reported. Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed that "a number of children" were injured and stated an investigation is underway, without providing further details.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ special rapporteur for Afghanistan, condemned the attack on Tuesday, calling it "heinous" and emphasizing the need for an independent investigation to bring those responsible to justice. He noted that the attack once again targeted the Hazara part of Kabul, describing it as "Deplorable!"
Afghan media indicated that approximately 50 children were hurt in the blast. The explosion occurred in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, a part of the capital primarily populated by the Hazara ethnic minority. The Hazara community, which constitutes about 9% of Afghanistan's population, has a history of facing attacks and persecution, often targeted by Sunni Muslim radicals like the Islamic State group. In May 2021, a few months before the Taliban's takeover, three bombings at a school in the same neighborhood killed dozens of people, most of them young girls from the Hazara community.