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AFGHANISTAN-UNREST,LEAD
Casualties feared as huge explosion rocks Kabul
KABUL, Nov 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Casualties are feared after a huge
explosion rocked Kabul on Monday close to where scores of Afghans had been
protesting against Taliban attacks on the minority Hazara ethnic group.
The blast struck in front of a high school in the downtown area of the
Afghan capital, the interior ministry said.
A photo shared on the popular WhatsApp messaging app showed several bodies
laying on the ground.
“It was a huge blast near Istiqlal high school, very close to where the
demonstrators were gathering,” witness Qais Nawabi told AFP.
A police officer at the scene said he could see 10 to 15 casualties on the
ground, as well as body parts.
“It is hard to see whether it was a suicide attack or a bomb (that had been
planted),” he told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
Hundreds of protesters, including university students, had taken to the
streets of Kabul to demand the deployment of reinforcements to Hazara-
dominated districts in Ghazni province which have been attacked by the
Taliban.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1558 hrs