There bombs, including one car bomb, targeted Sayed Al-Shuhada school in Kabul on Saturday; as one bomb exploded and students rushed out of the school in panic, the other two bombs detonated, killing 85 and injuring 147 people. At the time of the bombing the only students present in the school were girls, some of whom have still not been found by families frantically searching for their daughters at hospitals and some who cannot be recognised due to the extent of the disfigurement from the attacks.
Many of the victims were buried on Martyrs Hill in Kabul on Sunday by bereaved families of the Shia Hazara community from the Dasht-e Barchi neighbourhood which fears the massacre may just have been the beginning of another litany of attacks against the persecuted minority. The Afghan government has blamed the Taliban, which has denied responsibility and some analysts are stating remnants of the Taliban faction that once claimed allegiance to ISIS are responsible for the massacre that has taken the lives of Hazara daughters.
The big picture
Biden is confident that the last of the US troops will have left Afghanistan by September 11, but 20 years of war has left the country on a teetering edge as Taliban insurgents and Afghan security forces continue to clash. While foreign forces including the Russians and Americans played a significant part in shaping Afghanistan’s war torn history, the future rests on the shoulders of those who remain behind. Taliban insurgents, who were angered when America pushed its deadline for pulling out troops from May to September, are still engaging against the government and civilians – a move which is being questioned by the Afghan people. As Ramadan comes to an end, the Taliban announced a three day truce; Afghan President Ashraf Ghani responded by urging the Taliban to announce a permanent ceasefire. The next few months will prove important in determining the country’s future, if the Taliban and the Afghan government cannot commit to peace efforts the people will continue to suffer an ordeal which has already lasted decades. The attack on the Sayed Al-Shuhada school is a harsh reminder of what is at risk if the infighting continues in Afghanistan: the loss of life of innocent children who’s dreams were buried with them in shallow graves. Read more at ProperGaanda.