The number of wounded in Saturday’s attack increased to more than 100, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said.
Three outdoor explosions on the front of the school occurred when academics left for the day, he said. The explosions occurred in a predominantly Shia community west of the capital. The Taliban denied their responsibility and condemned the attack.
The first explosion came here from a vehicle full of explosives, followed by two others, Arian said, adding that the death toll could increase.
The hazara ethnic attack in Afghanistan that dominates the western district of Dasht-e-Barchi, where the bombing took place. Most Hazaras are Shia Muslims.
The region has been hit by violence opposed to the Shia minority and maximum claimed through the Islamic State’s affiliated organization operating in the country. No one has yet claimed the duty of Saturday’s attacks.
Ambulances evacuated the wounded as relatives and citizens shouted at the government near the explosion at Syed Al-Shahda school in Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said.
The bombing, aimed at causing maximum civilian carnage, adds to fears that violence in the war-torn country will intensify as the United States and NATO end nearly 20 years of army involvement.
Residents of the domain said the explosion was deafening. One of them, Naser Rahimi, told The Associated Press that he heard three separate explosions on Saturday. Rahimi also said he thought the force of the explosion meant that the death toll would almost actually increase.
Rahimi said the explosion occurred when the women were leaving school around 4:30 p. m. local time.
Although no one has claimed the duty of the attack, the Afghan Islamic State associate already has the Shia neighborhood.
The radical Sunni Muslim organization has declared war on Afghanistan’s Shiite Muslim minority, and Washington has accused the Islamic State organization of a brutal attack last year on a maternity hospital in the same region where pregnant and newborns died.
In Dasht-e-Barchi, angry mobs attacked ambulances and even beat fitness personnel while trying to evacuate the wounded, said ministry of fitness spokesman Ghulam Dastigar Nazari, who implored citizens to cooperate and allow ambulances to enter the site.
Images circulating on social media reportedly showed bloody backpacks and school books strewn down the street outside the school, and smoke lying above the neighborhood.
At a nearby hospital, Associated Press reporters saw at least 20 bodies covered in hallways and rooms, with dozens of wounded and relatives of victims rushing into the facility.
Outside Muhammad Ali Jinnah Hospital, dozens of others covered the the page to donate blood, while members of the family circle checked the lists of victims on the walls.
The attack occurred just as the day of fasting came to an end.
The attack comes days after U. S. troops began leaving Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters in a message that only the Islamic State organization can be guilty of such a heinous crime. Mujahid also accused the Afghan intelligence company of being a partner in the Islamic State organization, but provided no evidence.
The Taliban and the Afghan government have exchanged accusations of a series of selective killings of Afghan civil society workers, hounds and professionals. While the Islamic State organization took over some of the killings, many were reported.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, blaming the Taliban even though they denied it, without presenting evidence.
In the past, the IS organization has claimed its duty for attacks on a Shia minority in the same region, and last year claimed its duty for two brutal attacks on educational establishments that killed 50 people, most of them students.
Although the IS organization has been degraded in Afghanistan, according to the U. S. government and officials, it has intensified its attacks, opposing Shia Muslims and female workers.
Previously, the organization had been in charge of the murder of 3 female members of the media in eastern Afghanistan.
The attack comes days after the remaining 2,500 to 3,500 U. S. soldiers officially began leaving the country and will be released by September 11. The withdrawal comes amid a resurgence through the Taliban, which dominate more than part of Afghanistan.
The senior U. S. military official said Sunday that Afghan government forces face dubious long-term and, in all likelihood, “possible poor results” against Taliban insurgents as withdrawal accelerates in the coming weeks.
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(FRANCE 24 with AP)