A suicide attack at a tutoring center in Kabul killed 19 people and wounded dozens, police said on Friday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Many people living in the western area where the blast occurred are Hazara, an ethnic mostly Shiite Muslim minority targeted in past attacks launched by the ultra-radical Islamic State and others.
Khalid Zadran, Kabul police spokesperson, said the official death toll was 19 people dead and 27 wounded.
He said the attack took place at a private tutoring center where an exam took place. Schools are closed in Afghanistan on Fridays.
He said that attack of civilian targets proves the enemy's inhuman cruelty and lack of moral standards, without specifying who was believed to be behind the attack.
The death toll is likely to increase. A hospital source said 23 people had been killed. A Taliban source said 33 people had been killed and that female students were among the casualties.
Ghulm Sadiq, a local resident, said he was at home when he heard a loud sound and went outside to see smoke rising from the center, where he and neighbors rushed to help.
My friends and I were able to move around 15 wounded and 9 dead bodies from the explosion site. Other bodies were lying under chairs and tables inside the classroom, he said.
Karen Decker, the U.S. charg d 'affaires in Afghanistan, condemned the blast.
She said in a message on Twitter that targeting a room full of students taking exams is shameful and that all students should be able to pursue an education without fear.
The age of the students was not immediately clear, but private institutes such as the one targeted prepare teenage students for university entrance exams in their final years of high school.
Girls high schools have been closed in Kabul in the past few months after the ruling Taliban had a U-turn on promises to open all schools, but Kabul residents and education workers have said that female students have been attending private tutoring centers.
Since taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have emphasised that they are securing the nation after decades of war, but in recent months there have been a number of blasts at mosques and civilian areas.
Teenage students were among the 24 killed in a 2020 attack claimed by Islamic State at a similar education center in West Kabul.