By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL (AA): A deadly 10-hour assault on the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) in Kabul ended early on Thursday leaving at least 13 people dead, including seven young students.

A group of Taliban militants stormed the AUAF campus Wednesday evening. Located on a busy street in the western part of the Afghan capital, according to police a suicide car bomber first detonated a device as other militants stormed the campus, firing indiscriminately.

Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi, Chief of the Afghan National Police in Kabul, confirmed on Thursday that seven students, three policemen and three other university personnel lost their lives in the attack while 30 others were wounded.

Security guards resisted before special units of the Afghan National Security Forces arrived to take on the rebels.

Some 700 students, faculty members and other civilians were present at the prestigious university.

Minutes after the first blast, all present at the campus were rushed to underground bunkers while others managed to escape by jumping walls at the complex’s rear side.

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, saying terrorist groups wanted to obstruct Afghanistan’s growth.

This was not the first time the AUAF has been targeted. Two of the university’s foreign teachers were abducted near the campus several weeks ago and remain in captivity.

[Photo: A general view of Afghan American University’s campus after seven students, three policemen and three security guards were killed and 43 other wounded in attack in Kabul Afghanistan on August 25, 2016. Photographer: Haroon Sabawoon/AA]