American University Of Afghanistan Says It Is Under Attack In Kabul
Gunfire and explosions have been reported at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, and the president of the university tells The Associated Press that a militant attack is underway.
"We are trying to assess the situation," Mark English told the AP.
A police spokesman tells the news service that police and intelligence personnel are on site at the campus to respond to the situation.
An official from Afghanistan's interior ministry tells Reuters that the university was attacked by "several gunmen."
"They are inside the compound and there are foreign professors along with hundreds of students," he says.
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Massoud Hossaini tweeted that he was stuck on campus and heard gunshots and explosions, noting "this maybe my last tweets."
But he escaped. He spoke with the AP about the harrowing experience, saying he was in a classroom with 15 students when he heard an explosion:
" 'I went to the window to see what was going on, and I saw a person in normal clothes outside. He shot at me and shattered the glass,' Hossaini said, adding that he fell on the glass and cut his hands.
"The students then barricaded themselves into the classroom, pushing chairs and desks against the door, and staying on the floor.
Hossaini and about nine students managed to escape from the campus through a northern emergency gate." 'As we were running I saw someone lying on the ground face down, they looked like they had been shot in the back,' he said.
The attack comes just a few weeks after two foreign professors were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. They have not been located.
In 2014, two employees of the American University of Afghanistan were killed in an attack on a Kabul restaurant. The deaths shook a school that had been largely insulated from violence.
"From behind its fortified walls, the university has operated relatively unscathed since it opened in 2006," NPR's Jacki Lyden noted at the time . "It's benefited from a huge infusion of cash from the United States which sees the campus as an incubator of talent and entrepreneurship."
Terrible news. Any foreign staff working there are very brave.
So what the heck are we doing to help them?
How damn sad is this. A ray of hope in this war torn country and it and it's professors and students are being attacked.
If an Afghan educational institution doesn't focus on the koran it will inevitably be a target for militants .
So very sad!!! I'm so sorry to hear this and only hope the people inside can get out safely.