Students Trapped in Attack on American University in Kabul

An attack Wednesday on the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul left dozens of students and foreign staff trapped inside campus buildings, Reuters reports. The attack by suspected militants armed with guns and explosives started around 6:30pm and was followed by more than an hour of shooting when Afghan forces arrived. According to the AP, one of its photographers, Massoud Hossaini, was in class at the university when the attack started. Hossaini says he was shot at when he looked out a window after hearing an explosion and at least two grenades were thrown into his classroom. Students proceeded to barricade themselves in classrooms. A witness told CNN fires were burning on the campus.

Eighteen people were reported injured in the attack, and authorities say a university guard was killed. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Taliban seems like a likely culprit. More than 1,000 students are enrolled in the American University of Afghanistan. The US-style liberal arts school shut down for a time after two teachers, one American and one Australian, were abducted Aug. 7. They haven't been seen since. (More Afghanistan stories.)