At least 30 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts at a school in the Afghan capital, Kabul. More than 50 others were injured.
The incident took place at a girls' high school on Saturday. Most of the casualties in the blast were female students, officials said. A senior Afghan interior ministry official said on condition of anonymity that most of the casualties were students at the Saeed ul Shuhada school.
The blasts occurred as they were leaving the school. Footage from Afghanistan's ToloNews television channel showed books and school bags lying in a bloody street in front of the school. Local residents are gathering there to rescue the victims. Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Aryan put the death toll at at least 25, but did not immediately say what caused or targeted the blast. So far, 46 injured people have been taken to hospital, said Ghulam Dastagir Nazari, a spokesman for Afghanistan's health ministry. Washington has announced that it will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11.
Since then, security has been tightened across Kabul and high alert has been maintained. The incident took place in the meantime. No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack.
Taliban spokesman Jabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack and said they were not involved.
