Around 750 students were in the university at the time of the attack, Mujahid said.
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Several students took to Twitter to convey the horrors of the scenes unfolding whilst they were trapped and asked for help.
That paved the way for two gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades to enter the building. The assault ended after a 10 hour standoff.
Although no group or individual has claimed of responsibility for the deadly attack, officials have put finger at the enemies of Afghanistan, a reference to the Taliban.
Afghan forces backed by USA troops have engaged in heavy fighting in Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand Province, seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover.
The attack came during what should have been a year of celebration for the school – its 10th anniversary. It was established in 2006 to offer liberal arts courses modeled on the US system, and has more than 1,000 students now enrolled.
The attack was the second time in less than three weeks that the American University has been targeted by militants.
Students and staff that were caught up in the attack shared updates on social media and sent urgent messages for help. “We were in the class when we heard a loud explosion followed by gunfire”. He had tweeted out his ordeal saying that he was stuck at the University along with other students amid the explosion and gunfire. They’re in the campus and they’re firing!’ ” Ibrahimi says. Gunfire was still heard about an hour later. The professor later said he was safe and away from the university.
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Massoud Hossaini also survived the attack. “He shot at me and shattered the glass”, Hossaini said.
Terrified students barricaded themselves in classrooms or leaped out of windows to escape.
“As we were running, I saw someone lying on the ground face down”. Its president, Mark English, confirmed to the Associated Press an attack is underway. He said “we are trying to assess the situation”.
It was apparently the first reported abduction related to a private university in Afghanistan.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack which comes two weeks after two university staff were kidnapped from their auto by unknown gunmen. The teachers, an American and an Australian, are still missing. They have not been located.
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Militants attacked the American University of Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least one person and wounding at least 18 others, officials said. The deaths shook a school that had been largely insulated from violence. It opened in 2006 and caters to full-time and part-time students.
