KABUL, Afghanistan Militants armed with a car bomb, grenades and
automatic weapons killed at least 14 people during the 10-hour attack on
the American University of Afghanistan, police said Thursday.
Most of staff and students fled but around 160 were forced to hole up in classrooms during Wednesday's brazen assault on Afghanistan's most prestigious college, according to the country's Interior Ministry. They were later rescued by special police units.
Seven students, one professor, three police and two security
officers were killed at the university, according to the Interior
Ministry. A caretaker at a nearby school for the blind also died in the
attack. Around 35 students and police were wounded.
No Americans appeared to have been killed or
injured in the attack, according to Elizabeth Trudeau, a State
Department spokeswoman.
"Our thoughts are with the families and friends
of Afghan students, staff and security personnel who lost their lives,"
she added in a statement.
Secretary of State John Kerry said in a
statement that the United States "condemns in the strongest terms" the
attack against the university.
"This was a cowardly assault on talented and motivated scholars students and faculty alike dedicated to a better and more prosperous
future for Afghanistan, as well as the police and security staff who
help make that future possible," Kerry said in the statement. "Though it
took and altered innocent lives, this attack will ultimately fail to
change that path or deter the cause of peace in that country."
One attacker died in the initial car bomb blast
and two gunmen were killed by police early on Thursday, according to
Kabul Police Chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi. There was no claim of
responsibility for the attack.
Located on the edge of Kabul, the university was
established in 2006 to offer liberal arts courses modeled on the U.S.
system. Around 1,000 students are enrolled there.
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