At Least 70 Killed in Car Bombing of School in Afghanistan’s Kabul

A weekend car bombing attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul has left the city, and in particular its Shi’ite Hazara minority, reeling. The attacks targeted the Sayed al-Shuhada school, killing 70 and wounding 165.

The car bomb detonated outside the school, starting a panic, and two other smaller bombs were detonated in the crowds, greatly increasingly the number of casualties, which rose throughout the day.

The attack was in a Hazara-dominated neighborhood, which is common enough with so many militants having strong sectarian antipathy toward them. The casualties were overwhelmingly girls, and the Saturday afternoon bombing gave way to mass funerals among the community on Sunday.

The Taliban have denied involvement, and no other group has taken credit. ISIS is a good bet for a culprit, as the group has launched more large attacks against the Hazara in Afghanistan than any other in recent years.

Despite this, there is always a tendency to try to pin these things on the Taliban for the sake of throwing a spanner in the works of the peace process. The Taliban, likely noting this trend, has been very quick to disavow attacks they didn’t participate in.