Grenade blast near Kabul school wounds children, UN envoy condemns attack

A hand grenade exploded near a school in Kabul on Monday afternoon, wounding multiple children, according to Afghan authorities. Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said late Monday that "a number of children" had been injured and that an investigation was underway, without providing further details.

Afghan media reported that around 50 children were hurt in the blast, which took place in Dasht-e-Barchi, a neighborhood in the capital that is predominantly home to the Hazara ethnic minority. Hazaras, who constitute roughly 9% of Afghanistan's population, have long faced persecution and attacks. Most are Shiite Muslims and have been repeatedly targeted by Sunni Muslim extremist groups such as the Islamic State, while also enduring discrimination in the Sunni-majority country.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur for Afghanistan, condemned the attack in a social media post on Tuesday, calling it "heinous" and noting that it harmed numerous children near a school. He said an independent investigation to bring those responsible to justice was essential. "Once again this mainly Hazara part of Kabul has been targeted. Deplorable!" he wrote.

The attack echoes a tragic incident in May 2021, when three bombings at a school in the same neighborhood killed dozens of people, most of them Hazara girls leaving class. That attack occurred just months before the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops.