At least 58 people, mostly children aged between 11 to 15 years, have been killed and many wounded when a car bomb went off on Saturday evening near a school in Kabul, reported TOLOnews. The Taliban, the main Afghan insurgent group, denied their involvement and condemned the attack.

At least three blasts, first the car bomb and two subsequent rocket attacks, targeted a girls’ school in the west Kabul area, mostly dominated by Shia Hazara ethnic minority. The Afghan ministry of interior confirmed the VBIED attack.

The Saturday attack, which aimed to cause maximum civilian casualties, was a chilling reminder of the last year’s suicide attack which targeted a coaching center in the same Hazara locality. The Shia community, which has a long history of persecution, has made remarkable progress, especially in girls’ education over the last 20 years. 

ISIS, soon after its emergence in the country, has repeatedly targeted the ethnic minority. The last year’s Kabul University attack, and the coaching center suicide bombing both were claimed by the group.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack and even blamed the Taliban. The group has denied their involvement and called for a fair international probe into the incident. 

Other prominent leaders like former President Hamid Karzai, and main Afghan peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the attack. 

The attack came at a time when fighting across the country has intensified amid foreign troops’ withdrawal from the country. US President Joe Biden, on 15 April, had announced withdrawing all its forces, unconditionally, from Afghanistan by 11 September this year. 

The peace efforts between the Afghan government and the Taliban are making no progress despite months of negotiations. Furthermore, the insurgent group had refused to participate in Turkey Conference last month.