BURQACLAD BOMBERS KILL 30 AT AFGHAN SHIA MOSQUE

KABUL: At least 30 people were killed when suicide bombers disguised in women’s clothing stormed a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, officials said.

Two male attackers, wearing full-length burqas to hide explosive vests and automatic weapons, entered the mosque in the city of Gardez in Paktia province, first firing at the worshippers and then detonating the vests, according to Afghan police.

The spokesman for the Paktia police, Sardar Wali Tabasoom, said that guards had been posted at the mosque because of fears of such an attack. But the attackers used the burqas to get close, then shot the guards, he said.

Interior ministry spokesman Nusrat Rahimi put the dead toll at 30, with 81 injured. He said 20 of the wounded are in critical condition.

Syed Sufi Gardezi, the most senior Shia cleric in the city of Gardez, described a scene of panic and distress outside the Imam-e-zaman mosque. He said the wounded were screaming for help and body parts of the dead were scattered throughout the single story mosque. The dead were all men and boys, he said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has targeted Shia worshippers in the past. The group has also warned Afghanistan’s minority Shias that their houses of worship would be targeted.