UN: Afghanistan educational centre bombing death toll hits 43

No group has so far claimed responsibility, but the Daesh has carried out several deadly attacks in the area targeting girls, schools and mosques.

Friday's attack triggered sporadic women-led protests in Kabul and some other cities.
AFP

Friday's attack triggered sporadic women-led protests in Kabul and some other cities.

The death toll from a suicide bomb attack on an education centre in the Afghan capital last week has risen to at least 43, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan has said.

"Forty three killed. 83 wounded. Girls & young women were the main victims," the UN mission said in a tweet on Monday, adding that casualties were expected to rise further.

A suicide bomber blew himself up next to women at a study hall in a Kabul neighbourhood on Friday, home to the Shia Muslim Hazara community.

The bomber detonated as hundreds of students were sitting a practice test ahead of an entrance exam for university admissions.

No group has so far claimed responsibility, but the Daesh — which considers Shias as heretics — has carried out several deadly attacks in the area targeting girls, schools and mosques.

READ MORE: Deadly blast hits educational centre in Kabul's Shia neighbourhood

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Women-led protests in Kabul

Friday's attack triggered sporadic women-led protests in Kabul and some other cities.

Around 50 women marched on Saturday in Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood where the attack happened.

The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan last year brought an end to a two-decade war against the Western-backed government, and led to a significant reduction in violence, but security challenges remain.

In May last year, before the Taliban's return to power, at least 85 people were killed and about 300 were wounded when three bombs exploded near their school in Dasht-e-Barchi.

Again, no group claimed responsibility, but a year earlier Daesh claimed a suicide attack on an educational centre in the same area that killed 24.

READ MORE: Afghans protest after dozens killed in Kabul college attack

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