Mohammad Rahid never failed to inspire. As a gifted student at Kabul University, captain of the debate club and an English language tutor, the 20-year-old student was an achiever. In his free time, Rahid created inspirational videos as a way to uplift his wounded nation.
In one of his recent videos, Rahid is urging people to smile “even if it is tough and painful”. In another post on Facebook, he is seen articulating the collective grief of Afghans who’ve suffered from decades of conflict. “Tough times come and go, you would know who helped you, who was with you…I am trying to turn my wounds into wisdom,” he wrote.
On Monday, Rahid’s life was cut short when three gunmen stormed the Kabul University campus, killing over 22 students, professors and employees in an attack that has been claimed by the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP).
Around 10.30 am, students heard the first shots being fired. “When the attackers entered, they just started shooting in all directions and at everyone. Then they went into classrooms and shot each one of them,” 20-year-old Nida, Rahid’s friend and classmate, told VICE News.
This is the second such attack by the insurgent group on an educational institute in Kabul in the last ten days. ISKP took responsibility for the suicide-attack on a private learning center in West Kabul killing 42, mostly students, on October 24.
Nida, a public policy student, said that many students jumped from windows of the second floor to survive. “But when they [assailants] reached Rahid’s room, they started shooting at everyone in the class. Some managed to run while others were taken captive and then killed. He couldn’t escape. They shot him,” said Nida, trying to hold back her tears. “I was lucky to have hid in the library.”
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