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Gunmen Kill At Least 19 People In An Attack On Afghan University

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

ISIS gunmen stormed Afghanistan's largest university. They killed 19 people in an hours-long attack Monday. It was the second attack by the Islamic State on a learning center in just 10 days, as NPR's Diaa Hadid reports from Islamabad.

DIAA HADID, BYLINE: One eyewitness, a public policy student, told NPR that she heard a terrifying bang and then the crackle of gunfire as gunmen rushed in.

NILOFER FARAHMAND: (Speaking Arabic).

HADID: The student, Nilofer Farahmand, says she was told to run, and she did.

FARAHMAND: (Speaking Arabic).

HADID: Later, she found out through WhatsApp group that the gunman held students hostage in two classrooms. They opened fire on some students. Others at the university fled the gunman by jumping out of windows. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. They claimed they were targeting graduating students and inspectors. And it came days after an ISIS militant blew himself up outside a center that prepared students for university exams, killing more than 20.

The attack cast a shadow over ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Even though they weren't responsible for this attack, they have stepped up their violence across the country. And that growing bloodshed is extinguishing hopes that some Afghans held that these talks would bring peace or even a reduction in violence. Shaharzad Akbar is the chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

SHAHARZAD AKBAR: It's harder and harder to have hope about the process when your children are being slaughtered on a daily basis inside schools, inside universities.

HADID: And she says the violence by all sides should prompt the negotiators to ask themselves whether these peace talks are meaningful at all.

Diaa Hadid, NPR News, Islamabad. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Diaa Hadid chiefly covers Pakistan and Afghanistan for NPR News. She is based in NPR's bureau in Islamabad. There, Hadid and her team were awarded a Murrow in 2019 for hard news for their story on why abortion rates in Pakistan are among the highest in the world.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.