Attack against American University of Afghanistan leaves 13 dead

An Afghan police officer outside the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.

(Image credit: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images)

published 25 August 2016

At least 13 people were killed and more than 30 wounded during an attack on the American University of Afghanistan on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior said seven students, two police officers, a security guard, and three assailants died during the attack. It began when one assailant detonated a car bomb outside of the university, which was founded in 2006, during evening classes. Two assailants then began shooting at students, killing seven, before entering the university's main building, where they battled security forces. Students reported barricading themselves in classrooms, pushing tables and chairs against the doors. An Associated Press photographer, Massoud Hossaini, was in a classroom with 15 students when he heard an explosion outside. Hossaini told AP he "went to the window to see what was going on, and I saw a person in normal clothes outside. He shot at me and shattered the glass." Hossaini said two grenades were thrown into the classroom, injuring some students, and he was able to escape through an emergency gate. Authorities say hundreds of students were on campus when the attack began.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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