The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1 dead as gunmen storm Afghan college campus
American University students cite fears in social media posts.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Gunmen tried to storm the American University of Afghanistan here Wednesday evening after setting off a powerful explosion nearby, sending panicked students at evening classes scrambling for safety on the highly guarded campus in the Afghan capital.
The Health Ministry reported late Wednesday that one person, a guard, was killed and 18 were wounded, including a foreign teacher. Students remained trapped inside the campus for more than three hours while Afghan security forces exchanged fire with the gunmen.
The explosion and gunbattle occurred less than three weeks after two foreign professors at the elite university, one American and one Australian, were kidnapped at gunpoint just outside the campus. There has been no news of them since, and no group had claimed responsibility for their abduction.
As word of the explosion circulated on social media, students tweeted that they were hearing gunfire very close by and feared that the assailants had entered the campus. There were conflicting reports on whether the gunmen had breached the compound, as well as unconfirmed reports of students being taken hostage.
One Afghan who spoke by phone with friends on campus said the gunmen were holed up at a nearby eye hospital and that many students had taken shelter in a safe room on campus. Another report said wounded students were trapped inside.
Afghan police and special security forces converged on the campus, which is surrounded by high walls and is located in a remote area of Kabul. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said a special operations force was sent inside to search for any attackers. Ambulances and other emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.
A Defense Department official in Washington said a small contingent from the U.S. military advisory mission based in Kabul was aiding Afghan forces as they responded to the chaos. U.S. forces in Afghanistan are not permitted to engage in combat.
Twitter users on and off campus sent a flurry of emotional messages after the explosion, which was loud enough to be heard across the capital. Many friends and relatives sought news or tried to console and reassure one another.
Rafi Fazil messaged his friends on campus: “Praying for your safety. Make sure you find somewhere safe to take cover.” Hikmatullah Noori tweeted that a friend there had been injured and was rushed to the hospital. “Please pray for his recovery,” Noori tweeted.
The campus was crowded Wednesday night because many students take evening classes and work during the day. All courses are taught in English. Many students who need help improving their English skills also take special courses in the evening.
About 1,300 students attend undergraduate and graduate programs at the private, nonprofit university, founded in 2006.
No group has asserted responsibility for the violence on Wednesday, but the two-pronged assault was typical of the complex attacks periodically carried out by Taliban insurgents against government and foreign facilities in Afghanistan.