American University of Afghanistan attack
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On 24 August 2016, attackers who are suspected members of the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
stormed the
American University of Afghanistan The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) ( fa, ; ps, ) is an Afghan private university located in the Darulaman section of Kabul. Most students of AUAF currently live abroad and there are plans to create a new AUAF campus in Qatar in the ...
in
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, using a
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
and
automatic weapons An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous dischar ...
. Thirteen people were killed, including seven university students, one policeman, three security guards at the university, a university professor (Naqib Ahmad Khpulwak) & Faculty of Computer Science (Omer Farooq Hazarbuz) was badly injured. Fifty to at least 53 people were injured, some critically. Three of the attackers were killed by Afghan Special Forces. This was the first direct attack on the university, although two professors were kidnapped just outside the university a few weeks prior.


Background

Afghanistan had been experiencing a significant amount of terror attacks during the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
, including the large
July 2016 Kabul bombing On 23 July 2016, a twin bombing occurred in the vicinity of Deh Mazang square in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, when Enlightenment Movement protesters, mostly from the Hazara ethnic group , were marching against a decision to bypass their reg ...
. In the past, incidents related to employees at the American University of Afghanistan include a terror attack on a restaurant in which around 21 people were killed, including two AUAF employees, and a kidnapping of two foreign professors by men dressed in
Afghan National Police The Afghan National Police (ANP; ps, د افغانستان ملي پولیس; prs, پلیس ملی افغانستان), is the national police force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across ...
uniforms on August 7. American special forces later failed in an operation to try and rescue them. The
American University of Afghanistan The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) ( fa, ; ps, ) is an Afghan private university located in the Darulaman section of Kabul. Most students of AUAF currently live abroad and there are plans to create a new AUAF campus in Qatar in the ...
was chartered in 2004 and established in 2006. It is an "Independent, self-governing, not-for-profit university operating on the US liberal arts model". Founded by Dr.
Sharif Fayez Sharif Fayez, also known as Mohammed Sharif Fayez, (1946 – February 8, 2019), was an academic in Afghanistan, who also served as the country's Minister of Higher Education from 22 December 2001 to 2007. He has written several English and Persian ...
, it is Afghanistan's "top institution for higher education", with many foreign employees, and is supported in part by prominent U.S. politicians.


Attack

The attack began at 19:03 during the evening classes at the university, when around 700 students were in attendance. The university was surrounded by a fortified wall. A truck filled with explosives was driven up to the wall and blown up, leaving a large hole in the wall. Two assailants then entered the compound, prompting employees and students to panic while fleeing and hiding. A nearly ten-hour-long siege then ensued, which lasted overnight. Hundreds of trapped students "pleaded for help" as an explosion followed gunshots, some sending messages on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Students used furniture in the classroom to barricade doors, with others making a "mad scramble to escape through windows" while pushing each other out, some from dangerous heights.
Afghan National Army Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia * Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
troops belonging to an elite unit led operations to secure the campus while exchanging gunfire with the assailants.
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
led military coalition foreign troops assisted in the operations, including mentors from the
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
Special forces group
Marinejegerkommandoen ''Marinejegerkommandoen'' (MJK) ( en, Naval Special Operations Command) is the maritime/naval special warfare unit of the Norwegian Armed Forces and was established in 1953. The MJK is under the command of the Norwegian Special Operations Com ...
to rescue the 200 students trapped inside the school.
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
photographer
Massoud Hossaini Massoud Hossaini (born 10 December 1981) is an Afghan-born photojournalist. He works for Agence France-Presse. Hossaini was the winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography and the winner of World Press Photo, along with severa ...
was stuck and wounded inside the university and tweeted updates, along with other reporters such as
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producer
Ahmad Mukhtar Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar ( ur, احمد مختار) (22 June 1946 – 25 November 2020) was a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the Defence Minister of Pakistan in the PM Yousaf Raza Gillani-led cabinet. He also owned Servis G ...
. During the chaos, seven university students, one policeman, three security guards at the university, and one university professor were killed. A guard from a neighboring
vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious c ...
school for visually impaired people was also killed. Most people were killed from bullets that traveled through windows. At least 50 to at least 53 people were also injured.


Aftermath

The
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
was suspected to be behind the attack but has not yet claimed responsibility. The
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
is also a suspect. Laura Bush, a major supporter of the university, denounced the attack along with the U.S. State Department and offered her condolences. She also issued a statement. The American University of Afghanistan temporarily closed indefinitely "in the wake of the despicable terrorist attack on the university". University President Mark English was interviewed on the American
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
. The university also issued a statement: AUAF English professor
Raj Chandarlapaty Raj Chandarlapaty (born May 12, 1970) is an American educator and author. Chandarlapaty is a product of the American philological tradition and has researched the contributions of Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. His archival research, inc ...
reflected on the challenging plight of the university: The university reopened in March 2017.


See also

*
List of terrorist incidents in August 2016 This is a list of terrorist incidents which took place in 2016, including attacks by violent non-state actors for political motives. Note that terrorism related to drug wars and cartel violence is not included in these lists. Ongoing military con ...
*
July 2016 Kabul bombing On 23 July 2016, a twin bombing occurred in the vicinity of Deh Mazang square in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, when Enlightenment Movement protesters, mostly from the Hazara ethnic group , were marching against a decision to bypass their reg ...
* September 2016 Kabul bombing


References

{{reflist 2016 murders in Afghanistan 2016 in Kabul 2010s crimes in Kabul 2016 mass shootings in Asia 21st-century mass murder in Afghanistan Building bombings in Kabul August 2016 crimes in Asia Car and truck bombings in Afghanistan Improvised explosive device bombings in 2016 Improvised explosive device bombings in Kabul Taliban attacks in Kabul Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 Mass murder in 2016 Mass murder in Kabul Mass shootings in Kabul School bombings in Asia School shootings in Asia Terrorist incidents in Afghanistan in 2016 University and college killings in Asia University and college shootings