The attack carried out Monday, November 2 by three armed men on the campus of the university of Kabul, the second against an educational center in ten days, left at least 19 dead.

It has been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Following a suicide bomber who blew himself up, two shooters targeted helpless students, sowing death and terror on campus, where witnesses saw bloodied bodies lying on classroom tables where they were surprised.

The clashes pitted the attackers against the security forces for several hours inside the country's largest university, according to the Interior Ministry.

"Three attackers are involved. One of them detonated the charge he was carrying at the start of the attack, two were shot dead by the security forces," the spokesperson told AFP. word of the Ministry of the Interior, Tariq Arian.

Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramerz told AFP that most of those killed were students.

The attack was launched when government officials arrived on campus to inaugurate an Iranian book fair, Hamid Obaidi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education, told AFP.

The gunmen broke into the campus, causing hundreds to flee, some trying to climb the perimeter wall to escape the gunfire.

Afghan security forces subsequently surrounded the area, blocking all roads leading to the university, witnesses and an AFP journalist reported.

"A despicable act of terrorism"

ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued by its Amaq propaganda agency.

"Two fighters from [the organization] Islamic State managed to launch an attack during an (event) organized by the Afghan government at Kabul University," Amaq said.

The terrorist training evokes "judges and investigators who have just completed training".

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has vowed to "avenge this senseless attack and every drop of blood from these innocent students."

“This attack will not go unanswered, we will retaliate,” he added.

Tuesday has been declared a national day of mourning.

The European Union immediately condemned this "despicable act of terrorism".

"This terrorist attack is the second attack on an educational institution in Kabul in less than ten days, following the attack on Dasht-e-Barchi on October 24. Such acts not only deliberately target innocent civilians, mainly young people , but constitute attacks on the future of Afghanistan ", declared the spokesperson of the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.

Schools and universities have been regularly targeted by extremist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) organization.

Last week at least 24 people, mostly students, were killed in a bomb attack on an education center in western Kabul, claimed by ISIS.

In 2018, an IS suicide bomber blew himself up outside Kabul University, killing dozens of people.

With AFP and Reuters

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