Attack on American University in Afghanistan leaves 12 dead

An explosion and gunfire have been heard at an American University in Kabul on Wednesday.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack.

The growing number of students attending university, especially women, is widely hailed as one of the biggest successes in Afghanistan since the USA -led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban regime.

AP photographer Massoud Hossaini was in a classroom with 15 students when he heard an explosion on the southern flank of the campus.

He later managed to escape with nine students.

The security forces were working slowly and very carefully because there was no electricity within the university, according to a police criminal investigation official, who requested to remain anonymous.

In the statement, the president also expressed sympathy with the families of the victims. “I am broken, my friend, brother, colleague Mr. Khpulwak is no more”, Ezatullah Adib wrote on Twitter.

It was the second time this month that the university or its staff had been targeted.

The uptick in violence comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation in Afghanistan since North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014.

Local media reported that hundreds of students had been rescued during the overnight operation, many of whom tweeted anguished messages for help, with some using classroom furniture to barricade the doors.

One attacker died in the initial vehicle bomb blast and two gunmen were killed by police early on Thursday, according to Kabul Police Chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi. The shots broke the windows, and Hossani fell and cut his hands on the glass. “We produce graduates that go on to actually change things on a day by day basis in this country”, he said.

“Most of the dead were killed by gun shots near the windows of their classrooms”, Sediqqi said.

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, saying terrorist groups wanted to obstruct Afghanistan’s growth.

The attack came just weeks after two instructors, an American and an Australian, were kidnapped from their SUV outside the campus.

Afghan security forces massed around the campus, a guarded compound in the western part of the capital, after initial reports of an explosion and gunfire.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a warning that American citizens should stay away from the area, and should consider leaving the country. It opened in 2006 and caters to full-time and part-time students.

“We do understand there are small numbers of Resolute Support advisers who are assisting their Afghan counterparts as Afghan forces are responding as this situation develops”.

The English-language university first opened in 2006 with US funding, and is the country’s top institution for higher education, attracting many young Afghans. Their whereabouts are still unknown.