The death toll from a suicide bombing targeting an educational center in Kabul has risen to at least 43 people, according to a new toll published by the United Nations mission in Afghanistan on Monday, October 3, 2022.

The mission's statement on "Twitter" said there are "43 dead and 83 injured.. and the majority of the victims are girls and young women," noting that the number of dead is likely to rise.

A suicide bomber detonated himself near a classroom in a Kabul neighborhood inhabited mostly by the Shiite Hazara minority, while dozens of students were taking university entrance exams. No group claimed the attack that took place last Friday,

The return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan last year ended a two-decade-long war against the Western-backed government, leading to a noticeable decline in violence, but security has begun to deteriorate in recent months.

The hardline Taliban movement, accused of failing to protect minorities, tries to downplay the significance of attacks that pose a challenge to its regime.