Jihad never sleeps - today's edition

Horror in Kabul:

The American University of Afghanistan in the capital Kabul came under attack by militants on Wednesday night after a huge explosion rocked the campus and gunmen opened fire.

Hundreds of students and American faculty staff were left trapped, an interior ministry official said, with many taking to social media to plead for help.

A huge plume of smoke was seen rising above the fortified campus as elite Afghan forces backed by American military observers surrounded the university compound and battled the terrorists. 

Several gunmen, some wearing suicide vests, were involved in the attack which began at 9.30am (ET) in the western suburbs of Kabul, the official said.

A health ministry official said at least 14 people had been injured, while many inside managed to escape the onslaught of gunfire by rushing through emergency exits.

Teachers and students still inside the university sheltered in place while security forces moved slowly through the campus buildings to clear them while witnesses reported militants threw grenades at them.

According to one student, several of his classmates were killed and wounded while another posted on Facebook: 'We are stuck in university and under attack by Taliban they are killing us.

Renowned Associated Press photographer, Massoud Hossaini was one of those caught in the crossfire, but later managed to escape.

The attack began when a car bomb exploded outside a school for the blind next door to the campus before at least one attacker fired at the university from that building, a police officer told The New York Times. 

According to Afghan journalist Bilal Sawary, the Kabul's CDR rapid reaction unit informed him that they were dealing with a 'complex' attack and that special forces are 'en-route'.

'We have been notified of a complex attack on the American University on Darul-Aman Road,' the commander of Kabul police's quick reaction force told NBC News as the attack began, adding, 'We still don't know the exact nature of the attack.'

A health ministry spokesperson confirmed 14 of the wounded had so far been taken to hospital. 

No organization has taken responsibility yet for the attack at the university.

'My class was over and I was planning to leave, then suddenly I heard gunshots,' said Ahmad Mukhtar, a student at the university.

'I tried to find shelter, but a blast took place and I ran towards a wall and managed to escape by climbing the wall and injured my leg,' he told the LA Times.

'Several students have been killed and injured; many students and professors are stuck,' said another student according to the LA Times. 

'Some managed to escape, but we are still here. Please help us.'

The question is whether the world is going to think of this as the new normal, as a factor that's just baked in to the human condition.