Taliban Targets All Girls School In Afghanistan Killing 30

An explosion, the result of a terrorist attack by the Taliban, targeted at an all-girls high school in Kabul, Afghanistan killed 30 people Friday.

According to the New York Times: “The blast — and the targeting of girls as they left Sayed Ul-Shuhada high school — comes as rights groups and others have raised alarm that the American troop withdrawal will leave women, and their educational and social gains, particularly vulnerable.”

The hope surrounding the U.S. withdrawal deal with the Taliban was that it might open the way for a lasting cease-fire, and a respite for civilians who are being killed in horrific numbers. But the reality as American troops depart is being driven home by massacres like this one — there has been more chaos than accord, and more fear than hope.

President Joe Biden has promised the United States will fully withdrawal from the now 20 year conflict by September 11, 2021. This has led , in recent weeks, to the Taliban making public statements claiming triumph, leaving many fearing that the insurgents will try to seize power through a bloody military victory with the American and international forces gone.