On April 27, 2026, explosions struck Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University in Kunar province, Afghanistan, killing students and at least one professor, and damaging university property.

The explosions appeared to come either from rocket or drone attacks in the area around the university and they occurred in the context of cross-border airstrikes by Pakistan on Afghanistan that had escalated periodically since late 2025, despite attempts at mediation. Afghanistan accused Pakistan of responsibility for the attack on the university. Pakistan denied the charge.

According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education, the explosions killed 30 students and a professor and left dozens injured. They also damaged classroom facilities.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the targeting of higher education facilities in armed conflict. Parties to a conflict may only attack legitimate military targets; where a party suspects that a civilian facility — such as a university building — is being used for military purposes, that party has a duty to take every action practicable to verify that this suspicion is correct before initiating an attack. In the event of such an attack, parties must take all practicable precautions to avoid or minimize damage to civilian facilities. Further, parties must refrain from launching attacks which may be expected to cause disproportionate damage to civilian facilities.

Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg0gxrgklro
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/28/afghanistan-pakistan-kunar-university-attack-peace-talks
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/world/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-university-strike.html
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20260430173803131
https://openthemagazine.com/world/did-pakistan-attack-the-afghan-university-in-kunar-heres-what-the-evidence-shows