Two gunmen were killed at American University of Afghanistan in Kabul early Thursday, hours after an attack launched against the institution, authorities said.
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American University of Afghanistan was attacked Wednesday in Kabul killing one security person and injuring 21 students. Only two weeks ago, two of the university’s foreign professors – a USA national and an Australian – were kidnapped at gunpoint. Special forces were on the scene along with American military advisers, the BBC said.
At least 37 people had been wounded, he said, including seven police officers.
That attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, which emerged previous year in Afghanistan as an affiliate of the militant group fighting in Iraq and Syria. According to the Emergency Hospital in Kabul, three people were critically injured, TOLOnews tweeted.
Sporadic gunfire could be heard through the night and, before dawn, police said the operation had concluded.
“The attack began at around 7:00pm when a suicide bomber ploughed his explosives-laden vehicle into the university’s wall, paving the way for other gunmen to enter inside,”Pajhwok Afghan News reported”.
Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said officials were not sure how many militants were involved in the attack, and that security forces had started clearing operations soon after it began.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military advisers were helping Afghan forces to respond to the attack, a USA official said, without specifying how many troops were involved.
When the explosions and gunfire rang out at the elite American University, desperate calls for help were made by students trapped inside classrooms.
The students then barricaded themselves inside the classroom, pushing chairs and desks against the door, and staying on the floor.
Nearly immediately, they heard a loud explosion. The shots broke the windows, and Hossani fell and cut his hands on the glass.
No group has taken credit for the attack, which came less than three weeks after Australian and American faculty members were kidnapped by men dressed in Afghan National Police uniforms.
A grenade was thrown in through a window and detonated inside the classroom, Hossaini said, and he and other students jumped from the window and onto a fallen air conditioning unit after another explosive was thrown into the classroom.
The Pentagon said United States military advisers were on the ground with Afghan security forces at the university.
The White House said it was aware of the incident and was monitoring the situation.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau condemned the assault on the school. He said it was still not clear if there were one or two attackers.
The attackers opened fire and detonated explosives on the campus.
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“We strongly condemn the attack on American University in Kabul”. “Condolences to the bereaved families and prayers with the injured”.
