Moqtada al-Sadr, an influential Iraqi Shia cleric, reacted to Friday's suicide attack in Kabul, and blamed the Taliban for the attacks against the Hazara-Shia community. Al-Sadr questioned the Taliban and asked, "What kind of government is this which cannot protect its people?"
Al-Sadr said in a statement that he considers the Taliban to be fully responsible for the current attacks on Shias in Afghanistan.
The influential Iraqi Shiite cleric emphasised "it is not unlikely that in the future, attacks will be waged even against Sunni and moderate Afghan brothers who do not abide by the beliefs of the Taliban”.
Al-Sadr stressed that the Taliban is an extremist government, and they are behind terror attacks against mosques, worshipers, and Muslims in Afghanistan.
Al-Sadr’s statement has been issued after at least 23 people have been killed and 35 others have been injured in Friday's attack on the Kaaj educational center in the Hazara-Shia dominated area of western Kabul.
Moqtada al-Sadr said that he urged Saudi Arabia to intervene in Afghanistan's issues.
Stating that the security situation in Afghanistan remains complicated, particularly in Kabul, Dejan Panic, Acting Country Director for Emergency, said that they continue to receive injuries from gunshots, shrapnel, stab wounds, mine explosions and IEDs on a daily basis.
The hospital stated that this is the 11th mass casualty attack in the last two months and the 21st this year causing casualties. Panic added, “In the last two months alone, we had to activate extraordinary emergency procedures following explosions and attacks.”
It has admitted more than 16,000 patients in its hospitals in Kabul, Lashkar-Gah, and Anabah since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the hospital stated.
The Emergency Hospital in Kabul on Friday also stated that they received 22 patients, including 20 women following the suicide attack at the Kaaj educational centre in the Hazara-majority Dasht-e-Barchi area.
Panic added, “The victims are all between 18 and 25 years old, and most of them were in the classroom to take an exam. One person was already dead on arrival and another died after being admitted.”
During the Taliban rule in the past and the reign of the previous government of Afghanistan, western Kabul, a predominantly Hazara ethnic community population center, has been under constant targeted attacks by terrorist groups.
The latest reports from Kabul indicate that at least 23 people have been killed and 36 others have been injured in the attack at the Kaaj educational center.
Witnesses said that the victims were taken to several hospitals. The Taliban had previously confirmed that at least 19 people had been killed and 27 others had been injured in the attack in Kabul. However, witnesses said that the number of victims was higher than what the Taliban announced.
According to the witnesses, the suicide attacker first shot at the security guards of the Kaaj educational center where the explosion took place and then, blew himself up among the female students.
According to witnesses, most of the victims were female high-school students of the Hazara ethnic community.
The suicide attack on an educational center in Kabul has been globally condemned. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), United States, Norway, Iran, and several rights activists and politicians have condemned this attack.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, called the explosion an attack on the future of Afghanistan. Bennett, who has repeatedly criticised the killing of Shiites and Hazaras in Afghanistan, called for an end of the attacks on Hazaras and Shiites.
UNAMA confirmed that many civilians had been killed in this attack. The UN office in Afghanistan stated that the attack took place in an area with a majority of Hazaras and Shiite residents and said that Afghanistan's security is getting worse.
Karen Decker, the Charge d'affaires of the US Embassy for Afghanistan, strongly condemned the attack and said that targeting a room full of students taking exams is shameful.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway has also strongly condemned the attack on the Kaaj educational center. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the attack took place in a predominantly Hazara area and many teenage boys and girls were killed and injured.
The Taliban too have reacted to this attack and Zabihullah Mujahid, the group’s spokesperson, said that they consider the attack a "horror". However, Shahrazad Akbar, the former chairwoman of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, responded to the Taliban spokesperson’s comments and said that the Taliban is promoting the culture of waging suicide attacks as a holy act.
During the Taliban rule in the past and the reign of the previous government of Afghanistan, western Kabul, a predominantly Hazara ethnic community population center, has been under constant targeted attacks by terrorist groups.
The latest reports from Kabul indicate that at least 23 people have been killed and 36 others have been injured in the attack at the Kaaj educational center.
Witnesses said that the victims were taken to several hospitals. The Taliban had previously confirmed that at least 19 people had been killed and 27 others had been injured in the attack in Kabul. However, witnesses said that the number of victims was higher than what the Taliban announced.
According to the witnesses, the suicide attacker first shot at the security guards of the Kaaj educational center where the explosion took place and then, blew himself up among the female students.
According to witnesses, most of the victims were female high-school students of the Hazara ethnic community.
Media reports indicate an increase in the number of casualties after a suicide attack took place at an educational center in Kabul. CNN quoted a doctor at the Jinnah Hospital as saying that at least 23 people have been killed and 36 others have been injured in the attack.
Witnesses said that the victims were taken to several hospitals. The Taliban had previously confirmed that at least 19 people had been killed and 27 others had been injured in the attack in Kabul. However, witnesses said that the number of victims was higher than what the Taliban announced.
According to the witnesses, the suicide attacker first shot at the security guards of the Kaaj educational center where the explosion took place and then, blew himself up among the female students.
According to witnesses, most of the victims were female high-school students of the Hazara ethnic community.
It has been more than a year since secondary and high schools have been closed for Afghan girls under the Taliban.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said that the early-morning attack on Friday at the Kaaj educational center "claimed the lives of dozens of teenage boys and girls" and "severely injured many more”.
A student of the Kaaj educational center said that the explosion took place inside the most crowded class of the school. According to the student, usually, 500 students participated in this class.
The explosion was carried out in a neighbourhood mainly inhabited by Hazara ethnic community, which according to human rights activists is facing a risk of systematic attacks.
Khalid Zadran, a spokesperson for Taliban’s Kabul Police said that 19 people have died, and 27 others have been injured after the explosion at an educational center, in district 13 of Kabul. However, according to the witnesses, the explosion left many dead and wounded.
Abdul Nafi Takor, the spokesperson of the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, has confirmed the explosion and added that the explosion took place on Friday morning at the Kaj educational center in Police District 13 of Kabul.
The victims of the explosion are from the ethnic Hazara community of Afghanistan who are predominantly Shia and have been the victims of such attacks in the past years as well.
According to residents, the target of the explosion were the students who were present at the center for university entrance preparation exam.
Residents alleged that the Taliban members have prevented relatives of the victims from entering the hospitals where injured and dead bodies have been transferred.
A reporter from Kabul told Afghanistan International that the Taliban did not allow reporters to approach the scene.
Witnesses, too, said that the ambulance service has not been available for timely transfer of victims to the hospitals.
Zahra Ershadi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations, has asked other countries to accept refugees from Afghanistan. Ershadi has told the UN Security Council meeting that Iran and other neighbours should not feel the burden of accepting Afghan refugees.
Iranian officials have claimed that after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the number of Afghan immigrants in Iran has reached five million.
Earlier, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had said that Iran is worried about the current situation regarding migration of Afghans.
In the past year, Iran has asked for support from the United Nations to deal with Afghan refugee issues.
In her speech at the UN Security Council, Ershadi also expressed concern about the emergence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
According to Iranian media reports, this diplomat said that the Taliban should be committed to fighting terrorism, guaranteeing all appropriate steps to support diplomatic and consular missions of Iran.
She emphasised that Afghanistan should no longer become a safe haven for Islamic State-Khurasan and Al-Qaeda members.