At least 12 people were killed and 36 others were wounded when gunmen attacked the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghan officials said early Thursday.
(FOX)- Approximately 12 hours after the attack began Wednesday evening, Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said that about 700 students had been rescued from the university compound.
Details on the victims were not immediately available, but Hedayatullah Stanikzai, an official with the Ministry of Public Health, said a guard employed by the university was among the dead. Reuters reported that both gunmen involved in the assault were also killed.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack on the university, which was established in 2006 to offer liberal arts courses modeled on the U.S. system, and has more than 1,000 students currently enrolled.
Witnesses said the gunmen got into the university despite tight security measures, including armed guards and watchtowers.
I finished my class and was about to leave when I heard a few gunshots and a huge explosion, followed by more gunfire,” student Ahmad Mukhtar told Reuters. “I ran toward the emergency exit with other students, climbed the wall and jumped outside.”