KABUL, Aug 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A blast at an education centre in Kabul has 
injured at least 42 children, the UN mission in Afghanistan said Tuesday, 
without elaborating on the cause of the explosion.

Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, 
earlier condemned a "heinous attack" near a school in Kabul's western Dasht-
e-Barchi area, which is home to the historically persecuted Shiite Hazara 
community.

The victims of Monday's blast are aged nine to 14, according to the UN 
mission, UNAMA.

"UNAMA have not yet confirmed the circumstances of the explosion," a 
spokesman told AFP, citing "conflicting reports of either an attack or 
unexploded ordnance".

Decades of conflict have left Afghanistan littered with the explosive 
remnants of war, with the country registering the third-highest casualty rate 
globally according to the United Nations.

Afghanistan's Directorate of Mine Action Coordination, which has investigated 
the scene, said a grenade had exploded at the school on Monday afternoon, 
matching details earlier provided by the Kabul police.

"Our thoughts are with the children injured and their families," UNAMA said.

"We call for an investigation to establish the circumstances of this 
incident. Schools and education centres must be kept safe."

The private primary school posted a message on its Facebook page asking 
people to "pray for the injured", without providing further details.

The blast happened just as the children were being dismissed, a 38-year-old 
resident who lives nearby told AFP.

"There were so many wounded people that I couldn't count them," she told AFP 
on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

There have been sporadic attacks in Kabul over the past five years of Taliban 
government rule, including an explosion at a central Chinese restaurant in 
January which killed at least seven people.

There have been multiple deadly blasts in the Dasht-e-Barchi area, including 
a car bomb outside a girls' school in 2021 that killed at least 90 people and 
wounded hundreds more.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Dasht-e-
Barchi, targeting Shiites who they consider heretics.