The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported yesterday that dozens of civilians were killed and injured in attacks carried out on Monday in Asadabad, Kunar.
UNAMA said the attacks took place on Monday afternoon and that a university was also targeted.
The mission stressed that, under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian objects, including educational facilities, must be protected at all times.
UNAMA extended condolences to the families of those killed and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
Taliban officials said the attacks were carried out by the Pakistani army and claimed that 7 people were killed and at least 85 others were injured.
The Taliban Ministry of Higher Education said in a statement that the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University was targeted in what it described as a “cowardly, brutal act contrary to all Islamic and international principles.”
The Taliban called the incident an “attack on knowledge and Afghanistan’s essential infrastructure” and urged international organizations not to remain silent.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting denied yesterday that residential areas and Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University in Kunar were targeted, saying that Pakistan’s military operations are “precise and based on intelligence information.”
The ministry added that whenever Pakistan conducts any strike in Afghanistan, it will announce it officially, as it has done in the past.
