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Unidentified gunmen attacked Afghanistan’s largest university.

Earlier today, a group of three unidentified gunmen suddenly stormed the campus of Kabul University in Afghanistan. These assailants, armed with pistols and assault rifles, immediately opened fire on the student populace, firing seemingly indiscriminately. Authorities promptly arrived on the scene, and after a prolonged firefight lasting several hours, the gunmen were confirmed to have been killed. According to information available at time of writing, 19 people, mostly students, have been confirmed dead, with 22 wounded.


At the time of the attack, the university was hosting a large book fair on campus. This event attracted several prominent Afghan and Iranian officials, including Iranian Ambassador Bahador Aminian. Officials have theorized that these people were the primary target of the gunmen, though none have currently been confirmed to have been injured or killed.

Footage of the attack captured by Afghan reporters showed numerous students and staff jumping the walls of the university in an attempt to escape from the gunfire. One student told a reporter that the gunmen were firing at “every student they saw.”

This is the second terrorist attack that has struck an Afghan learning institution in less than a month. Ten days prior, a suicide bomber detonated himself near an education center, killing 20. This attack was confirmed to have been the work of ISIS. However, this new attack on Kabul University has not drawn any official claims of responsibility from known terrorist cells, with the Taliban going as far as to publicly deny any involvement.