German killed, 20 hurt in suicide bombing

KABUL (Pajhwok): A foreigner, believed to be a German citizen, was killed and 20 others — mostly Afghans — were wounded when a teenage bomber blew himself up inside the Isteqlal High School in the heart of Kabul on Thursday night, officials said.

The explosion occurred in the auditorium of the school during a theatre performance at around 5:30pm, Col. Humayun Aini, the 119 police information centre head, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said the attack was carried out by a 16-years old boy posing as a spectator. The injured were evacuated to different hospitals in Kabul, with four of them said to be in critical condition.

Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi confirmed one person had been killed and 15 to 20 others wounded in the bombing. The attacker had skillfully placed the explosives in his underwear and dodged strict security measures around the school.

Acting Interior Minister Mohammad Ayub Salangi said the person killed was German. Rahimi identified the victim as a man but gave no further details.

Earlier, sources said the man killed was believed to be a French citizen. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said no French nationals had died. “I firmly condemn this terrorist attack, which killed several people and injured many.”

The show — Heartbeat and Silence after Explosion — was being performed at the time of the attack, officials said. The French Cultural Centre is not far from the Presidential Palace and shares its grounds with the Istiqlal School, a French-financed institution that has taught generations of Afghan children.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior said the attacker had hidden explosives in his underwear and detonated them when the film against terrorist attacks was being screened at the school’s auditorium.

An MoI statement said one foreigner was killed and 10 people were injured in the blast. However, it did not reveal the nationality or gender of the foreign national.

Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayub Salangi condemned the attack and blamed it on the enemies of Afghanistan insurgents, who he said had lost the ability to enter face-to-face combat with Afghan forces.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack that came hours after a suicide bomber targeted an Afghan military bus, killing six soldiers in Kabul.

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