Rocket kills seven children in Afghan school

A rocket exploded in a packed school near a US-led coalition base in eastern Afghanistan today, killing seven children and wounding 34 other people, officials said.

The rocket landed in the grounds of Salabagh School in Asadabad, located in a steep river valley about 105 miles north-east of the capital, Kabul, in the volatile Kunar province near the Pakistani border, said local police commander Mohammed Hasan.

Another rocket exploded in a nearby field and hurt no one.

It was unclear if the intended target was the school or the coalition base, which frequently draws militant rocket fire.

Coalition helicopters patrolled the area after the attack.

“This despicable act clearly demonstrates the enemy’s complete disregard for the Afghan people,” US military commander Maj Gen Benjamin Freakley said.

“The Afghan National Army and coalition forces will hunt down these terrorists and ensure they’re held responsible.”

Hasan blamed Taliban militants for targeting the school as part of a campaign against government-sponsored education.

But a purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammed Yousaf, denied involvement, saying: “We do not kill innocent children. This is not our work.”

The Taliban, remnants of which have been launching more regular, spectacular attacks against coalition and Afghan forces, believes educating girls is against Islam and oppose government-funded schools for boys that teach subjects besides religion.

The bodies of the seven dead students were given to their parents, who rushed to the school when they heard the blast, governor Wafa said.

Many of the wounded, including at least one teacher and a cleaner, were taken to the coalition base’s hospital, he said. Some were airlifted for treatment to Bagram, the US military’s headquarters north of Kabul.

“Shrapnel from the rocket slashed through the children who were studying in the yard because there aren’t enough school buildings,” Hasan said.

Hundreds of boys aged from six to 16 were in the school at the time, he said.

“I saw so many children on the ground. Many were not moving. Screams were coming from everywhere. I was crying,” 12-year-old student Omar Sahib said. “One teacher was lying there without a leg.”

In other violence today, two Afghans travelling in taxi were wounded when their car hit an explosive device near the eastern city of Jalalabad, said Mohammed Akram Basharyar, the deputy local police chief. No further details were available.

Dozens of schools have been attacked and many burned since US-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001 for sheltering al-Qaida terror network leader Osama bin Laden.

Most of the attacks have come at night and not caused fatalities.

But in January, a school headmaster was beheaded in front of his family after refusing to close his school. In October, gunmen shot and killed another principal in front of his students.

The past year has seen a surge in violence in Afghanistan, with militants from the Taliban, al-Qaida and other groups stepping up attacks on government-linked targets and US-led coalition forces.