Attack on American University of Afghanistan Leaves 12 Dead Attackers exchanged gunfire with Afghan forces; No group has claimed responsibility By Ehsanullah Amiri and Margherita Stancati
http://www.wsj.com/articles/american-university-in-kabul-attacked-1472055164
Attackers stormed the heavily-barricaded American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, firing at students in an hourslong overnight siege that left 12 people dead and 30 wounded by Thursday morning.
The assault began during evening classes on Wednesday, when a truck bomb exploded outside the fortified wall of the campus, opening the way for two assailants to enter as panicked students and staff fled and hid, Afghan officials and witnesses said.
Seven students, three policemen and two security guards were killed in the nine-hour siege, police spokesman Basir Mujahideen said. Thirty students were wounded, he added.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault, but the university has long been at high risk of attack from Taliban militants because of its association with foreigners.
Elite Afghan troops led the clearing operation and exchanged gunfire with the militants as they attempted to secure the campus. Foreign troops with the U.S.-led military coalition were at the scene to advise and assist Afghan forces.
“These advisers are not taking a combat role, but advising their Afghan counterparts,” said U.S. Army Col. Michael Lawhorn, a spokesman for NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
ENLARGE Ahmad Mukhtar was in the courtyard talking to friends when he heard gunshots followed by a large explosion.
“The explosion lit up the whole university,” said Mr. Mukhtar, a local reporter and part-time student at the university. “We rushed in all directions. Some jumped over the wall—I did, too.”
Mr. Mujahid, the police spokesman, said there were about 700 students inside the campus at the time of the attack. Most of them were at the prestigious school for after-work classes.
The English-language university first opened in 2006 with U.S. funding, and is the country’s top institution for higher education, attracting many young Afghans. Foreign professors teach there.CONTINUE AT SITE
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