American University (a nonprofit private school, according to its web site) has about 1,700 students enrolled at its Kabul campus.
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Hospital officials say at least one student was killed and at least 14 injured, as Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul, tells our Newscast unit.
Hossaini told the AP that he heard and explosion and went to the window of his classroom.
Afghan security forces have since the start of 2015 been in charge of their country’s security, but have often struggled to control a resurgent Taliban and still need frequent help from USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces.
All other personnel on the campus were being evacuated, he said. “He shot at me and shattered the glass”, Hossaini said.
Since the siege began, additional students have reportedly escaped, others are reportedly holed up in safe rooms and are under guard. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the Department is accounting for its personnel and working to locate and assist US citizens affected by the attack.
Hossaini and about nine students managed to escape from the campus through a northern emergency gate.
Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told Reuters earlier on Thursday that security forces had rescued around 500 students from the university, which is popular with Afghanistan’s elite.
The campus was crowded Wednesday night because many students take evening classes and work during the day.
As of now, a terrorist group has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Afghan security spokespersons say the incident is over, but as of this writing some locals are tweeting about ongoing gunfire on the campus.
He added that he believed the attack had started at the main gate into the compound.
Gunmen attacked the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, trapping staff and students inside.
Journalist Ahmad Mukhtar confirmed he was also trapped inside the building.
The attack at around 6:30 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) on Wednesday began with a large explosion that officials said was a auto bomb followed by gunfire, as suspected militants battled into the complex where foreign staff and pupils were working.
“There might have been hundreds of students and staff of the university when it was attacked”, student Makia Muneer said. Witnesses reported having seen students leaping from second-story windows amid gunfire and explosions.
“We are stuck inside and very afraid”, she told AFP by telephone.
The turmoil convulsing Helmand, blighted by a huge opium harvest that helps fund the insurgency, has left thousands of people displaced, sparking a humanitarian crisis as officials report food and water shortages.
The uptick in violence comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation in Afghanistan.
The university opened for enrollment in 2006 to both men and women, and quickly became a prestigious education choice for some of Afghanistan’s elites, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees taught in English. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
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A rash of kidnappings and Taliban bombings have heightened security fears in Kabul, the Afghan capital.
