Gunshots, blast rock Kabul US university
Explosions and gunfire rang out as militants stormed the elite American University of Afghanistan in Kabul yesterday, prompting desperate calls for help from students trapped inside classrooms, in the latest attack in the Afghan capital.
At least one person was killed and 26 others were wounded in the assault, which comes just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school.
Dozens of special forces cordoned off the area after the attack started yesterday evening, when the private university is usually packed with students, many of them working professionals doing part-time courses. Foreign staff and dozens of pupils remain trapped in the compound.
"I heard explosions and gunfire is going on close by... our classroom is filled with smoke and dust," said an anxious student.
"We are stuck inside and very afraid," she told AFP by telephone.
Many other trapped students were tweeting desperate messages for help, with some using classroom furniture to barricade the doors.
"Many students jumped from the second floor, some broke their legs and some hurt their head trying to escape," Abdullah Fahimi, a student who escaped, told Reuters. He injured his ankle making the leap.
"We were in the class when we heard a loud explosion followed by gunfire. It was very close. Some students were crying, others were screaming," he added.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the assault, but the attack comes as Taliban insurgents step up their summer fighting season against the Western-backed Kabul government.
"Many students have been evacuated," said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi, adding that there were no immediate reports of any hostages taken by the attackers.
"We are not sure about the number of attackers... but our special forces have started clearance operations."
Kabul-based journalist Ahmad Mukhtar, a university student, tweeted that he managed to escape but "several of my friends and professors (are) trapped inside".
Ambulances rushed to the scene as erratic gunshots rang out from inside the campus.
Some of the 26 wounded were in serious condition, said health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh, who also reported one fatality.
The foreign professors at the university were seized from their vehicle on August 7, as the kidnappers smashed the passenger window and hauled them away at gunpoint.
It appeared to be the first reported abduction related to a private university in Afghanistan.
Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country.
The Afghan capital is infested with organised criminal gangs who stage kidnappings for ransom, often targeting foreigners and wealthy Afghans, and sometimes handing them over to insurgent groups.
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