Students sift through remnants of their schools after deadly Taliban attack

Monday's blast damaged five schools, wounded 50 children, and cast doubt on how these students would be able to continue their studies.

Salaam Times and AFP

2019-07-02

An Afghan schoolgirl shows wounds on her arms from shattering glass near the site of a Taliban car bombing in Kabul on July 2, a day after the deadly blast. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Afghan children July 2 in Kabul stand in the debris near the site of a July 1 Taliban car bombing. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Afghan schoolgirls July 2 in Kabul gather their backpacks and books at a school near the site of a July 1 Taliban car bombing. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Afghan schoolgirls July 2 in Kabul gather their backpacks and books near the site of a July 1 Taliban car bombing. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Afghan men July 2 in Kabul look at the damage inside a mosque near the site of a July 1 Taliban car bombing. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Damaged laboratory equipment is pictured July 2 in Kabul near the site of a July 1 Taliban car bombing. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

A student lies in the hospital in Kabul on July 1 after a Taliban-claimed bomb wounded him that day. [Afghan National Security Council/Facebook]

An Afghan security officer July 2 in Kabul investigates the site of a July 1 Taliban car bombing. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

Damaged computer equipment is pictured July 2 at a school near the site of a July 1 Taliban car bombing in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

KABUL -- Kabul students picked through the debris of shattered schools on Tuesday (July 2) looking for books, backpacks and other possessions, a day after a massive bomb ripped through the Afghan capital.

Five schools were damaged in a Taliban attack Monday (July 1) that targeted a Defence Ministry building but also shredded a mosque and a TV station.

At least six people were killed, including one child and two special-forces soldiers, the Interior Ministry said.

The bombing -- and an ensuing shootout -- wounded dozens of people including 50 children, most of whom were hurt by flying glass.

An Afghan schoolboy July 2 in Kabul carries his backpack near the site of a Taliban car bombing. At least six people were killed and dozens, including 50 children, were wounded July 1 when the Taliban detonated a powerful car bomb in Kabul. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

"The schools in the area have been badly damaged," said local resident Ahmad Seyar. "It is a disaster."

At one private high school near the city centre, children were allowed to return to try to retrieve whatever they could from the rubble-filled building.

One girl showed AFP cuts on her arm from school windows that shattered from the force of the blast.

Some social-media images purportedly taken at a hospital showed wounded, stunned children in school uniforms, still clutching books as they arrived for treatment.

Even worse for children

Save the Children branded the bombing "utterly deplorable", warning that "children's smaller bodies sustain more serious injuries than adults" and that the trauma of terrorist acts can stay with them for years.

Monday's bombing was followed by Taliban gunmen storming a nearby building, triggering a gun battle with special forces.

All five insurgents were killed, the Interior Ministry said in a statement late on Monday.

Atiqullah, a resident of a nearby apartment building, said the bomb had broken all the windows in his home.

"The blast was huge," he told AFP. "Two of my family members were slightly injured. Our home is badly damaged."

"Dust, dirt, blood and human bodies were everywhere," said another resident, Hamidullah.

Kabul mostly had enjoyed a lull in violence over the winter, but in recent months it has seen a string of sophisticated attacks, including one against an American non-governmental organisation in May.

The White House condemned Monday's "brazen" attack, saying it "demonstrates the Taliban's callous disregard for their fellow Afghans, who have repeatedly voiced the urgency of finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict."