Death toll rises in attack at American college in Kabul

Afghan special forces regained control of the American University of Afghanistan on Thursday, ending a nine-hour militant siege that left more than a dozen people dead and scores more wounded.

Seven students, one professor, two security guards and three special forces soldiers died in the attack and the ensuing effort to retake the school on the outskirts of Kabul, the Interior Ministry said. Nine police officers and 36 students and staff were wounded, spokesman Sediq Sediqqi added. Health ministry officials put the death toll higher at 16.

Kabul Police Chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said the attack began at about 7 p.m. local time Wednesday, when a suicide car bomber blew a hole in a wall along the campus perimeter. Two attackers armed with grenades and automatic weapons continued the assault, he said.

Sediqqi said many victims were shot through classroom windows. Afghan security forces backed by U.S. military advisers stormed the campus, conducting a classroom-by-classroom manhunt and evacuating hundreds of students and teachers.

The two militants were killed at around 3:30 a.m. local time Thursday, Sediqqi said.

No group has claimed responsibility. The investigation thus far has determined that the attack "was organized and orchestrated from the other side of the Durand Line," a reference to Pakistan, the Afghan National Security Council said in a statement.

Special forces storm American University in Afghanistan

The hard-line Islamic fundamentalist Taliban, driven from power in Afghanistan more than a decade ago, has been waging jihad from bases in the rugged mountains along the Afghan-Pakistan border. The group has laid claim to several terror attacks in Afghanistan, but thus far has been quiet on the American University attack.

President Ashraf Ghani said the attack won't diminish government efforts to improve educational and other opportunities for Afghans.

“Terrorists should realize that despite all the challenges, the Afghan people and the government will continue the path they have chosen and they will overcome all the challenges," he said in a statement. "Attacks on education institutions and public places as well as targeting civilians will strengthen our goal to eliminate the roots of terrorism."

The U.S. embassy assailed the attack as a "cruel and cowardly act" that targeted Afghanistan's brightest young minds. U.S. Ambassador P. Michael McKinley said his thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones.

“We remain strongly committed to the people of Afghanistan who are dedicated to establishing lasting peace and security and building the brightest possible future for their children," McKinley said.

The school was the scene of another apparent terror attack Aug. 7, when two faculty members were abducted at gunpoint by unidentified gunman. The school was shut down and a review of its security was conducted, and it resumed its normal operations a few days later. The teachers, an American and an Australian, are still missing.

The university, with 1,700 students on a five-acre campus, is an internationally supported, private university founded a decade ago.