A suicide bomber detonated explosives Thursday inside a French-funded school in Kabul during a play that condemns suicide attacks , leading to deaths and numerous injuries , the French foreign minister said . The attack happened at Istiqlal High School , a school that includes a French cultural center , in the Afghan capital . The Taliban -- the Islamist extremist group fighting against Afghanistan 's ruling government and firmly opposed by various Western powers -- claimed responsibility , according to spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid . Around 5 p.m. , the theater at the school in central Kabul was packed for a performance of a play titled `` Heartbeats : Silence after the Explosion . '' It abruptly ended about 30 minutes later with a very loud bang , a bright light , smoke and dust , according to witness Zahir Sangar . `` When I tried to escape , I saw tens of people covered in blood , some of them were screaming and some of them were quiet , '' the student said . Acting Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi said that one person was killed and 15 others injured in the bombing . French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said a short time later that several people had died . It was not clear exactly how many or whether the suicide bomber was among the fatalities , though Fabius did say that no French citizens were among the casualties . `` All light must be shed on this barbaric act , '' Fabius said . `` And its perpetrators ( must be ) identified and brought to justice . '' The dead include a German national , Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said . French President Francois Hollande also issued a statement condemning what he called a `` heinous attack . '' `` By targeting this place of dialogue , '' Hollande said , `` it is the culture ... that terrorists have targeted . ''
A German national has been killed in the attack , a Kabul police spokesman says . A suicide bomber detonates explosives during a play called `` Silence after the Explosion '' at Kabul's main theater complex on Saturday morning. The Taliban claim responsibility for the attack , a spokesman says .