IS claims Afghan education centre attack that killed 34

Kabul, Aug. 16 (IANS): The Islamic State terror organization on Thursday claimed responsibility for an attack on an educational centre in the Afghan capital, which killed at least 34 people and wounded 56.

The government revised the number of deaths reported in the Wednesday terror attack from 48 to 34. “The coordinated and corrected information we got from our responsible departments now show that 34 people had been martyred and 56 injured,” said the Ministry of Public Health in a statement.

It said some casualties were double counted in the process of evacuation to hospitals.

The Amaq agency, linked to the IS, identified the perpetrator as Abdulrauf al-Khorasani, in a statement over Telegram whose authenticity was yet to be verified.

The attacker detonated his explosive belt inside the centre where hundreds of students were preparing for university exams.

The IS statement claimed the attack led to more than 200 casualties.

This is not the first time a minority Shia centre has been targeted by militants. In the past, attacks on cultural and religious buildings, especially of the minority Hazara community, have taken place.

An attack on private schools, the majority of which do not have security guards, is unusual.

The last suicide attack against the Shia community took place in a mosque in early August in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province, leaving 30 dead and 81 wounded.