A Bomb Killed Dozens. Then the Crowd Attacked First Responders

A bomb exploded near a girl's school in a majority Shiite district of west Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 25 people, many them young pupils between 11 and 15 years old, an Afghan government spokesmen said. The Taliban condemned the attack apparently aimed at civilians and denied any responsibility. Ambulances rushed to the scene of the blast near the the Syed Al-Shahda school, in the Shiite majority neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said. Residents in the area said the explosion was deafening. One witness told the AP he heard three separate explosions, although there was no official confirmation of multiple blasts. While no one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, previous brutal attacks in the same neighborhood have been claimed by the Afghan Islamic State affiliate.

In Dasht-e-Barchi, angry crowds attacked the ambulances and even beat health workers as they tried to evacuate the wounded, a Health Ministry spokesman said. Images circulating on social media purportedly showed bloodied school backpacks and books strewn across the street in front of the school and smoke rising above the neighborhood. At one nearby hospital, AP journalists saw at least 20 dead bodies lined up in hallways and rooms, with dozens of wounded people and families of victims seen throughout the facility. The attack comes days after the remaining 2,500 to 3,500 American troops officially began leaving the country. They'll be out by Sept. 11 at the latest. The pullout comes amid a resurgent Taliban, who control or hold sway over half of Afghanistan.

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