INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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
western neighbourhood is a predominantly Shiite Muslim enclave and home to the minority Hazara community -- a historically oppressed group
the assault on the Kaaj Higher Educational Centre.Since returning to power last August, security has been a sensitive topic for the Taliban
and the hardliners have often been keen to downplay attacks challenging their regime.Meanwhile on Saturday dozens of Hazara women defied a
dozens of heavily armed Taliban, some carrying rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, kept watch.Since the hardline Taliban returned to power,
previously claimed attacks in the area targeting girls, schools and mosques.The Taliban also regard the Hazara community as heathens, and
rights groups often accused the Islamists of targeting them during their 20-year insurgency against the former US-backed government.Since
returning to office, the Taliban have pledged to protect minorities and clamp down on security threats.However, Amnesty International said
300 were wounded when three bombs exploded near their school in Dasht-e-Barchi.Again, no group claimed responsibility, but a year earlier IS
claimed a suicide attack on an educational centre in the same area that killed 24.IS has emerged as a key security challenge for the
Taliban, but officials claim their forces have defeated the jihadists.
Source: AFP
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
