Suicide blast in Shia area of Kabul kills 19, Taliban say

A view of the education center that was attacked by a suicide bomber, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. A Taliban spokesman says a suicide bomber has killed several people and wounded others at an education center in a Shiite area of the Afghan capital. The bomber hit while hundreds of teenage students inside were taking practice entrance exams for university, a witness says. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A suicide bomber has struck an education centre in a Shia area of the Afghan capital, killing 19 people and wounding 27, including teenagers who were taking mock entry exams for university, a Taliban spokesman said.

The morning explosion took place in Kabul’s Dashti Barchi neighbourhood, an area populated mostly by ethnic Hazaras, who belong to Afghanistan’s minority Shia community.