23 children killed in a suicide blast in Afghanistan

Kabul, Sep 30: A suicide attack on an educational institute in Afghanistan's capital Kabul has killed at least 23 children and wounded many others, according to reports.

The suicide blast took place in a Shiite area of Kabul.

As per unconfirmed reports, 100 children were feared to have been killed.

A local journalist said in a tweet that he has so far counted 100 dead bodies of students. He even said that the number of students killed is much higher.

He wrote, "We have so far counted 100 dead bodies of our students. The number of students killed is much higher. Classroom was packed. This was a mock university entrance exam, so students could prepare for the real one." A member of the Kaaj higher education center tells me."

Among the victims, many of them are Hazara, an ethnic minority community targeted in the past attack too, according to a Reuters report.

Though, Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said in the morning that 27 people had also been injured in the attack, revising the number of wounded down slightly from the 29 announced earlier.

According to Afghanistan-based media Tolo news, at least 19 people died in today's attack at the "Kaj" educational centre and 27 others were wounded.

It was also said that the students came to the educational centre for an entrance exam.

The suicide blast was condemned by former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai said that the attack is against all human principles and values.

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett also condemned the attack and said that the onslaught on education for Hazaras and Shia must end.

Earlier, the blast took place in August this year in a Shi'ite residential area in Kabul in which at least eight people were killed and 18 wounded. The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for that.