Published 23:57 IST, November 2nd 2020
PM Modi condemns Kabul attack, assures support to Afghanistan in fight against terror
PM Modi has strongly condemned the Kabul University attack on Monday, adding that India will continue to support Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism.
Taking note of 'the cowardly attack' on the university in Afghanistan's capital on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly condemned the terror attack, adding that India will continue to support Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism.
19 killed, 22 wounded in terror attack
The Kabul university attack has killed at least 19 and wounded 22, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said as reported by international news agency Associated Press. The ministry's spokesman Tariq Arian said there were three armed men involved in the storming of the school's campus on Monday, and that all of them were killed in the ensuing battle. The explosion and gunfight took place when the Afghan and Iranian officials were inaugurating a book exhibition at the campus with the Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan present in the vicinity.
Associated Press stated that a student recalled the moment gunfire erupted at Kabul University in the Afghan capital early Monday, saying one attacker fired towards students with a pistol and an AK47. 37 of the students were present in his class when the shooting happened, Ahmad Samim, the student said. He also said he was the first student rescued by police, while some of his classmates were wounded during the shooting, as reported by Associated Press.
None of the terror organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack, however, Taliban issued a statement saying they were not involved in the attack. This attack comes just a week after the previous attack at the Kabul Education Centre that killed 24 people including students. ISIS had then claimed responsibility for the attack.
These attacks are perpetrated even as the peace negotiations between the Taliban and Afghanistan government continue in Doha, Qatar, though at a slow pace. The two factions are negotiating to end the 20-year-long war and discuss how the power-sharing would look like in post-war Afghanistan. The talks have been initiated by the United States, which had signed a historic peace deal with the terrorist group in February this year in line with the Trump administration's plan to exit from the war-torn country. However, even as the peace talks continue, there have been regular incidents of clashes between the terrorists and Afghan forces.
Updated 23:57 IST, November 2nd 2020