Rocket Strikes Afghan School; 7 Students Die

A rocket exploded Tuesday in a schoolyard in eastern Afghanistan, killing seven students and wounding 34 other people, officials said.

After the blast, distraught parents rushed to the Salabagh School. Hundreds of boys ages 6 to 16 were in the courtyard, witnesses said. Pools of blood soaked into the ground, and shoes and pieces of bloody clothing were scattered about.

“I saw so many children on the ground. Many were not moving. Screams were coming from everywhere. I was crying,” 12-year-old student Omar Sahib said. “One teacher was lying there without a leg.”

Local police commander Mohammed Hasan said many students were studying outside because the school in Asadabad, about 100 miles northeast of the capital, Kabul, was too small.

Salabagh School is in a steep river valley about half a mile from a U.S. base, which frequently draws militant fire.

Asadullah Wafa, governor of Kunar province, said many of the 34 wounded were taken to the base’s hospital. Some were airlifted to Bagram, the main U.S. military base north of Kabul.