Death toll from Kabul University attack reaches 35

The death toll from an assault on Kabul University in the Afghan capital has risen to 35 people, most of them students.

Two government sources told Reuters on Tuesday that around 50 people had also been wounded in the Monday attack, which ended after hours of fighting between the assailants and security forces.

Earlier on Monday, the Taliban militant group denied involvement in the attack. A Taliban spokesman who goes by the name Zabihullah Mujahid blamed the assault on the Daesh terrorist group.

But Afghanistan’s first Vice President Amrullah Saleh blamed the Taliban and their alleged supporters in Pakistan, while acknowledging an intelligence failure.

“The Taliban, [and] their like-minded satanic allies… next door, won’t be ever able to wash their conscience of this stinking & non justifiable attack on Kbul uni,” Saleh said on Twitter.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry also denounced the “despicable” assault on a seat of learning.

Hours after the attack, the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility, saying its members had “managed to attack a gathering set up by the Afghan government at the Kabul University for the graduation of judges and investigators after completing a course at the university.”

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has vowed to “take revenge for this senseless attack and for any drop of innocent students’ blood spilled.”

The Afghan government also declared Tuesday as a day of national mourning.

Several education centers in Afghanistan have been attacked over the years by extremist groups.

SS