At least 20 killed in attack on Hazara students and minority in Kabul

At least 20 people were killed in Kabul Friday in a suicide attack on an educational center crowded with students in a neighborhood where the minority Hazaras live, and most of the victims were girls.

"The students were preparing for an exam when a suicide bomber blew himself up in this educational center," said Kabul police spokesman Khaled Zadran.

"Unfortunately 20 people were killed and 27 others were injured," he added.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan noted that, "according to the information it has, at least 24 people were killed and 36 others were injured."

A student at the scene told AFP that "the majority of the victims were girls," without specifying whether they were among the dead or wounded.

He added that there were about 600 people in the class at this qualifying center, which prepares students over the age of 18 for university entrance exams.

There were boys and girls in one room but on two different sides of the hall.

The non-governmental organization "Emergency", which received 22 of the victims, including 20 women, in its hospital, indicated that their ages ranged between 18 and 25 years.

"Few young men were injured because they were in the back of the class and the suicide bomber entered through the front door where the girls were sitting," said student Ali Arfani.

This survivor added that he heard gunfire at first, explaining that the suicide bomber shot two guards before entering the classroom.

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