Death toll from classroom explosion in Afghanistan rises to 35

 

The death toll of a suicide bombing on a Kabul classroom has risen to 35, the UN said Saturday, as Shiite Hazara women who bore the brunt of the attack staged a defiant protest against the “genocide” of their minority community. 

The UN mission’s casualty figure is much higher than the death toll Kabul police have given -- they said 20 people were killed and 27 wounded in the assault on the Kaaj Higher Educational Centre. Meanwhile on Saturday dozens of Hazara women defied a Taliban ban on rallies to protest the latest bloodshed in their community. 

Around 50 women chanted, “Stop Hazara genocide, it’s not a crime to be a Shiite”, as they marched past a hospital in Dasht-e-Barchi where several victims of the attack were being treated. 

Witnesses have told AFP that the suicide attacker detonated in the women’s section of the gender-segregated study hall.