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American University Attack Ends: Leaves 13 Dead 44 injured

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(Last Updated On: October 24, 2022)

HT_american_university_of_afghanistan_jt_160807_31x13_1600A deadly ten hour-long terror attack on the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul has ended early Thursday, according to a government’s security officials.

At least 13 people have been killed and 44 wounded including seven students, after the attackers blew up an outer wall before bursting into the university compound around 7pm on Wednesday; casualties may rise.

Elite Afghan forces surrounded the walled compound and eventually worked their way inside, according to a senior interior ministry official.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard through the night and, before dawn, police said the operation had concluded after they killed at least two attackers.

Foreign troops were also involved in the operation to secure the university. A spokesman for the international forces in Kabul said the number of foreign troops was “small”. The troops were “not directly involved or in a combat role, but advising their Afghan counterparts”, Brig Gen Charles Cleveland said.

General Abdul Rahman Rahimi, Kabul’s police chief, said early Thursday that 13 people were killed. Of the 13 killed, he said 7 were students, 4 were police officers and 2 were American University of Afghanistan guards.

Rahimi said 35 students and 9 police officers were injured.

Three attackers were involved in the attack, Rahimi said. The first attacker detonated a suicide car bomb at the entrance the other two managed to enter the campus, he said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said the attackers were armed with grenades and automatic weapons. The siege of the university lasted almost nine hours, before police killed the two assailants around 3.30 am, he said.

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

No organization has taken responsibility yet for the attack at the American University of Afghanistan.

Although suspicion falls on the Taliban, the group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, would only tell the media that the group is “investigating,” according to The AP.

However, Afghanistan Presidential Palace said the findings of National Directorate of Security (NDS) indicate that the terror attack on American University was organized on the other side of the Durand line, Pakistan.

During an extraordinary session of NDS, President Ghani in a telephone call to Pakistani army chief of staff urged for taking serious measures and arresting the perpetrators of this incident.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Massoud Hossaini tweeted that he was stuck on campus and heard gunshots and explosions, noting “this maybe my last tweets.”

But he escaped. He spoke with the AP about the harrowing experience, saying he was in a classroom with 15 students when he heard an explosion:

” ‘I went to the window to see what was going on, and I saw a person in normal clothes outside. He shot at me and shattered the glass,’ Hossaini said, adding that he fell on the glass and cut his hands.

“The students then barricaded themselves into the classroom, pushing chairs and desks against the door, and staying on the floor.

Hossaini and about nine students managed to escape from the campus through a northern emergency gate.

” ‘As we were running I saw someone lying on the ground face down, they looked like they had been shot in the back,’ he said.”

14102135_1060217694054472_1515069696893090735_nPresident Ashraf Ghani’s office said he had visited some of the wounded in hospital on Thursday morning and had also extended condolences to the victims’ families.

President Ashraf Ghani called the assault “a cowardly attempt to hinder progress and development in Afghanistan”.

“Attacking educational institutions and public places and targeting civilians will not only fail to shake our determination, but will further strengthen it to fight and eradicate terror,” he said in a statement.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has condemned the “heinous attack” on the American University Of Afghanistan that left 12 people dead, including seven students, three police and two security guards.

U.S. Ambassador P. Michael McKinley called Wednesday’s attack “a cruel and cowardly act.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those killed and injured, as well as with the victims’ families, colleagues, and friends,” McKinley said, in a statement. “We remain strongly committed to the people of Afghanistan who are dedicated to establishing lasting peace and security and building the brightest possible future for their children.”

The school says on its website that it “embraces diversity and community” in Afghanistan.

BF9C972E-C893-40CD-B386-AFBF8883F074_w987_r1_sThe American University of Afghanistan, which opened 10 years ago, has about 1,700 students.

The attack on AUAF comes two weeks after two teachers working at the university—an American and an Australian—were kidnapped while on their way from their guesthouse to the campus. Their whereabouts are unknown.

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ISIS-K leader reportedly living in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

Sanaullah Ghaffari, also known as Shahab al-Muhajar, is reportedly the ISIS-Khorasan (Daesh) branch leader and is holed up in Pakistan, Reuters reports.

The 29-year-old took over as leader in 2020 and under his leadership the group has carried out extreme attacks as a means of recruiting, Reuters reported.

Reuters noted that little was known about Ghafari before the deadly 2021 ISIS attack on Kabul Airport, which killed 170 Afghan civilians and 13 American soldiers.

But after Friday’s deadly attack in a concert hall in Moscow, which left 139 people dead, Ghaffari’s group has come under intense scrutiny.

Reuters reports that Ghaffari is said to have been involved in several attacks in Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan.

Pakistani officials said months ago that Ghaffari had been killed in Kunar province in Afghanistan in June last year, but Reuters has reported that he did not die and instead fled to Pakistan and lives in the border province of Baluchistan.

Abdul Matin Qani, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan, says that Daesh has been suppressed in Afghanistan for more than two years and has lost its operational capacity.

The last attack carried out by Daesh in Afghanistan was the attack on the Kabul Bank office in Kandahar last week which left three dead and 12 wounded.

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IPL: Sunrisers thump MI in record breaking match

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

It was raining records at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday with the hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) clinching a 31-run victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 8 of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Sunrisers’ batting rewrote the record books on a batting belter after the posted 277 for three.

SRH now have the highest team score in the history of the IPL – beating Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) 263 for five from the 2013 season.

In reply, MI made a spirited effort, and at one stage, were contenders to do the near impossible. In the slog overs, the enormity of the target proved a bit too much, and SRH clinched victory, but not without numerous nervous moments.

To put into perspective the carnage we witnessed – Heinrich Klaasen’s 23-ball half-century was the slowest fifty of the SRH innings.

Travis Head, playing his first match for SRH, raced to the milestone in 18 balls. Abhishek Sharma got there even faster – in 16 balls – to record the quickest fifty by an SRH batter in IPL history.

While Sunrisers notched up the highest total in the 16-year history of the IPL, just as incredibly, Mumbai Indians almost paid them back with the same coin, their batters coming out with a nothing-to-lose attitude.

The sixes kept rolling off the Mumbai bats too, helping them keep up with the asking rate for most of the chase, eventually however, they ran out of steam and finished on 246 for 5, the highest IPL total in a losing cause.

As ESPNcricinfo reported, never were more runs scored in a men’s T20 match (523). Never were most sixes hit in a men’s T20 (38). At the end of the close to four-hour six-fest, only two bowlers returned with an economy rate of under ten an over.

Thursday, March 28 : Match 9

Thursday’s match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur sees Rajasthan Royals go up against Delhi Capitals.

Fans in Afghanistan can tune in to Ariana Television to watch the match live from 6.30pm. Alternatively the match can be screened live on arianatelevision.com

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Magnitude 5.2 quake jolts Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted Afghanistan on Thursday afternoon, the National Center for Seismology reported.

The quake was at a depth of 70km and epicentered in the mountainous north-eastern area of Ashkāsham.

The jolt was felt across the region including in Kabul, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan

There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

In October last year, over 2,000 people were killed when four 6.3-magnitude earthquakes struck in Herat province.

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