Blast outside Kabul school leaves 40 dead, 52 wounded

blast, kabul, school, dead, wounded, neo tv

Kabul (Web Desk): At least 40 were killed and about 52 others including students were injured in a blast occurred outside a school in the Afghan capital on Saturday, the interior ministry said.

“Sadly, 40 martyrs and 52 wounded people have been evacuated to hospitals from the site,” said a ministry official.

The blast occurred in the west Kabul district of Dasht-e-Barchi as residents were out for shopping ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr next week that marks the end of Ramadan.

The neighbourhood is populated largely by the Shia Hazaras.

Health ministry spokesman Dastagir Nazari said several ambulances had been rushed to the site and were evacuating the wounded.

“People in the area are angry and have beaten a number of ambulance workers,” he told reporters.

The blast comes as the US military continues to pull out its last remaining 2,500 troops from the country, despite faltering peace efforts between the Taliban and Afghan government to end a decades-long war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have largely refrained from launching major attacks in Kabul since February last year, when they signed a deal with the United States that paved the way for peace talks and withdrawal of the remaining US troops.