Seven pupils killed in rocket attack

The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack.
ASADABAD, Afghanistan (AP) -- A rocket exploded in a school yard in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday, killing seven pupils and wounding 34 other people in an attack possibly aimed at a nearby U.S. military base, officials said.
The tragedy was the deadliest in a string of assaults on Afghanistan's education system since the hard-line Islamic Taliban regime was ousted by a U.S.-led coalition after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Local police commander Mohammed Hasan accused the Taliban of targeting the boys school in the town of Asadabad in Kunar province. But a purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammed Yousaf, denied involvement.
"We do not kill innocent children. This is not our work," he said.
Salabagh School is located in a steep river valley about half a mile from a U.S. base, which frequently draws militant fire. Coalition helicopters patrolled the area after the attack. A second rocket exploded in a nearby field Tuesday but hurt no one.
After hearing the blast, distraught parents rushed to the school. Hundreds of boys aged 6 to 16 were in the courtyard at the time of the missile strike, witnesses said. Pools of blood soaked into the clay ground and shoes and pieces of bloody clothing were scattered about.
Hasan said many of the pupils were studying outside because the school in Asadabad, 105 miles northeast of the capital, Kabul, does not have enough classrooms.
"Shrapnel from the rocket slashed through the children," he said.
Kunar Gov. Asadullah Wafa said many of the 34 wounded, including at least one teacher and a cleaner, were taken to the coalition base's hospital. Some were airlifted for treatment to Bagram, the U.S. military's headquarters north of Kabul.
U.S. military commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley said the attack "clearly demonstrates the enemy's complete disregard for the Afghan people."
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