A grenade blast near a school complex in the Afghan capital wounds at least 42 children, the UN says

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An explosion near a school complex in the Afghan capital of Kabul wounded at least 42 children, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The U.N. political mission in Afghanistan confirmed the injuries near the education center and said the children are between 9 and 14 years old, according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Earlier, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said that “a number of children” had been wounded by a hand grenade on Monday, and that an investigation was underway. He did not provide further details.

The U.N. mission known as UNAMA also called for an investigation to establish the circumstances of the explosion, Dujarric said.

Richard Bennett, the U.N.’s independent investigator for Afghanistan, on Tuesday condemned the “heinous attack harming numerous children near a school.”

Afghan media had said that around 50 children were hurt in the blast, which occurred in a part of Kabul populated mainly by the Hazara ethnic minority, which makes up around 9% of the Afghan population and has long suffered attacks and persecution .

Most Hazaras are Shiite Muslims, and they have been targeted repeatedly in the past by Sunni Muslim…