Afghanistan's deadliest attack in a year kills over 50 outside a school

Qatar has condemned a deadly attack on a school in Kabul, killing over 50 and injuring more than 100 against the backdrop of US troop withdrawal.

Qatar expressed its “strong condemnation and denunciation” of an attack in Kabul that left over 50 dead and many more injured, the deadliest assault in Afghanistan in more than a year.

Blasts close to a secondary school in the Afghan capital killed dozens of victims, most of whom were school students leaving the building on Saturday as the explosives went off.

The blasts were said to be caused by a car bomb and two improvised explosive devices planted in the majority Shia Hazara populated community in the Dasht-e-Barchi area, according to a spokesperson from Afghanistan’s ministry of interior.

Afghan government officials blamed the Taliban for the attack, but the group has denied any involvement in the blasts.

The deadly assault comes amid a surge in violence since US President Joe Biden’s announcement to pull out all 2,500 American troops, as well as other NATO forces, by September 11th, instead of the May 1st deadline that was stipulated in a February agreement signed with the Taliban in Doha last year.

This prompted a warning from the Taliban that the US military had violated the 2020 accord by not finishing the troop withdrawal by May 1.

On May 3, clashes that erupted between Afghan government forces and the Taliban left more than 100 insurgents dead as the US handed over Camp Antonik in the southern Helmand province to Afghan forces.

Meanwhile, talks are ongoing to bring together Afghanistan’s warring factions, though little progress has been made so far.

Follow Doha News on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube