World News, Today World News, Latest International News, World Breaking News, Trending News of World - Times of India
· collected 2026-08-18 · by TOI World Desk
A hand grenade explosion near a school in Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood injured around 50 children on Monday afternoon, according to local media reports and Afghan authorities. The incident occurred at approximately 4:30pm near the Shama-e Hidayat school, with several students taken to a nearby hospital. This is not the first time the Hazara minority community in Dasht-e-Barchi has been targeted, as ISIS-K has previously attacked schools, mosques, and other civilian sites in the area. The UN special rapporteur on Afghanistan condemned the attack as "heinous" and called for an independent investigation to hold those responsible accountable.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A hand grenade explosion occurred near the Shama-e Hidayat school in Dasht-e-Barchi, a neighborhood in Kabul's western district that is predominantly populated by the Hazara minority. The blast injured around 50 children, although this number has not been independently verified. An investigation is underway, but authorities have not yet confirmed who was behind the attack. Local media reported that the cause of the explosion was a hand grenade. The incident has been condemned as "heinous" by UN special rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett, who called for an independent investigation to hold those responsible accountable. This area has been targeted before, including in attacks by the Islamic State's Khorasan branch (ISIS-K), which has previously targeted Hazara communities and civilian sites such as schools and mosques.
Written for “Attack on Afghan Schoolchildren” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.35 for article 917 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-08-26
A hand grenade explosion near a school in Kabul’s predominantly Hazara neighbourhood of Dasht-e-Barchi injured several children on Monday afternoon, according to Afghan authorities and local media reports.
uncertain
explosion → injure → authorities
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed that “a number of children” were wounded and said an investigation was underway, without giving further details.
asserted
investigation → confirm → details
Local media reports put the number of injured at around 50 children, though the figure has not been independently verified.
asserted
figure → put → children
Reports said the blast occurred around 4.30pm local time near the Shama-e Hidayat school, with several injured students taken to a nearby hospital.
asserted
students → say → hospital
The cause of the explosion was reported as a hand grenade by Kabul Now and TOLOnews, but authorities have not publicly provided further details on who was behind the attack.
asserted
who → report → attack
The blast took place in Dasht-e-Barchi, a western Kabul district largely populated by members of Afghanistan’s Hazara minority, who have faced repeated attacks and discrimination.
asserted
who → take → attacks
The Islamic State’s Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) has previously targeted Hazaras, including in attacks on schools, mosques and other civilian sites.
asserted
branch → target → schools
UN special rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett condemned the attack, calling it “heinous” and saying an independent investigation was needed to hold those responsible to account.
asserted
investigation → condemn → account
“Once again this mainly Hazara part of Kabul has been targeted.
asserted
part → target → Kabul
Deplorable!” he wrote.
asserted
he → write → ?
In May 2021, three bombings outside a school in Dasht-e-Barchi killed dozens of people, most of them young girls from the Hazara community.
uncertain
most → kill → community
No group has been identified as responsible for Monday’s blast in the reports provided.
asserted
group → identify → reports
