New Delhi

At least 23 young students belonging to Shia Hazara community of Afghanistan were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Girls’ tuition center in the center of capital Kabul in the morning on  Friday.

However, independent media persons quoted tuituion center authorities to claim that at least 100  persons had died in the attack.

The explosion took place at the Kaaj education center located in a predominantly Hazara neighborhood -- an ethnic minority group that has long faced oppression and discrimination.

Students were writing a mock university entrance test at around 7:30 a.m. when the blast first took place, Kabul Police Spokesman Khalid Zadran told the media persons.

Eyewitnesses said the bomber had entered the classroom from the door that was meant for girl students in the segregared classrooms. 

The authorities at the Ali Jinah Hospital where the injured were rushed told CNN that so far 23 people had died and 36 were injured.

No organization has so far claimed the responsibility of the blast.

According to TOLO News agency, Kabul's security department's spokesman Khalid

Zadran said that students came to the center, in PD13, to take the Kankor university entrance exam, and the number of casualties is preliminary and may increase.

However, a Canada-based Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary claimed 100 students had died in the blast:

“We have so far counted 100 dead bodies of our students. The number of students killed is much higher. Classroom was packed. This was a mock university entrance exam, so students could prepare for the real one.” A member of the Kaaj higher education center tells me.

— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) September 30, 2022

The blast has been condemned by the United States, Norway, Iran, Afghan political leaders and foreign diplomatic missions.

The Islamic Emirate's spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid in a tweet condemned the attack and called it "great horror."

Former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), Abdullah Abdullah, condemned the attack, saying those responsible for the blast are the enemies of peace and development in the country.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) tweeted it "condemns the outrage, extending its deep condolences to all those in mourning."

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The U.S. Charge d’Affaires Karen Decker said on Twitter: “The U.S. strongly condemns today’s attack on the Kaaj Higher Educational Center. Targeting a room full of students taking exams is shameful; all students should be able to pursue an education in peace & without fear.”