EXPLOSIONS: A wounded woman is transported to a hospital after the explosions in Kabul on Saturday. Photo: MOHAMMAD ISMAIL / REUTERS
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On Saturday, several explosions went off near what is to be a school in the Afghan capital Kabul.
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Forty people lost their lives in the explosions and dozens are said to be injured – most of them students at the school, according to an anonymous official in the Ministry of the Interior. It reports Reuters.
According to the official, most of those killed were students who came out of school.
It was around 4.30pm local time that the explosions went off at the Syed Al-Shahda school. It happened at the same time as many were out shopping for the ID celebration next week, writes NTB. The holiday marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
According to Afghan Tolo News At least three explosions have been reported near the school, which is located in the Dasht-e-Barchi area, west of Kabul – a neighborhood where most residents are Shia Muslims.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health states that 46 people have been transported to hospital.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.
A Taliban spokesman denied that the group was involved in the incident and condemned it, writes Reuters.
The explosion happened just before 4.30 pm local time while many were out shopping for the ID celebration which next week marks the end of the Muslims’ holy fasting month of Ramadan.
The school is a divided girls ‘and boys’ school, where girls and boys take turns going to school. Most of the injured are girls, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Education.
BACKGROUND: Fear in Kabul: – The Taliban is ready to take over
The area where the school is located has in recent years often been hit by attacks from IS fighters, according to Reuters.
The news agency writes that Kabul is on standby after Washington in April announced plans to withdraw all American troops by 9/11.
