Students killed as bomb blast hits Afghan school - BBC

At slightest 10 radical person been killed aft a weaponry blast deed a spiritual schoolhouse successful bluish Afghanistan, the ruling Taliban has said.

The blast took spot successful Aybak successful the Samangan state and near galore much injured, a spokesperson for the interior ministry told the BBC.

But the decease toll remains uncertain, and 2 provincial officials told the BBC that 17 radical died successful the blast.

No radical has claimed work for the attack.

The blast is said to person occurred arsenic radical were leaving congregational prayers, and a doc astatine the section infirmary said astir of the victims were students astatine the school.

"All of them are children and mean people," 1 doc was quoted by AFP arsenic saying.

Interior ministry spokesperson Abdul Nafee Takkur said the Taliban's information forces were investigating the attack, and vowed to "identify the perpetrators and punish them for their actions".

Aybak is simply a humanities metropolis that came to prominence arsenic a trading hub and a centre for Buddhists successful the 4th and 5th Centuries. It sits astir 200 km (130 miles) northbound of the superior Kabul.

Afghanistan has been rocked by dozens of blasts since the Taliban seized powerfulness past year, mostly claimed by the section offshoot of the Islamic State group, known arsenic Islamic State - Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).

The radical is the astir utmost of the militant groups successful Afghanistan and has targeted spiritual minorities - specified arsenic Hazaras - who the Taliban person pledged to protect. However, Human Rights Watch precocious observed that "Taliban authorities person done small to support these communities from termination bombings and different unlawful attacks".

In September, astatine slightest 54 radical - including 51 girls and young women - were killed aft a termination bomber detonated a weaponry successful the superior metropolis of Kabul. The attacker had targeted a hallway wherever hundreds of students were sitting a trial for assemblage admission.

Taliban leaders aboriginal blamed ISIS-K for the attack, though the radical itself did not instrumentality responsibility.