At least 50 Afghans die in mosque blast claimed by IS
Suicide bomb during Friday prayers challenges Taliban claims of bringing peace after US withdrawal
NEARLY 50 people were killed and scores more wounded when an Islamic State suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded Afghan Shia mosque, the latest sign of growing instability after the Taliban takeover.
Hospitals in the northern province of Kunduz said the death toll was expected to continue to rise, and video footage of the aftermath showed carnage and dozens of bodies.
The blast during Friday prayers appeared to be the biggest since the hurried evacuation of American and Nato troops from the country at the end of August. It was also the third targeting a mosque this week and came during intensifying violence between the victorious Taliban and the local branch of the Islamic State group.
Islamic State has repeatedly targeted the Shia minority in Afghanistan and claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said on Twitter: “This afternoon, an explosion took place in a mosque of our Shiite compatriots... as a result of which a number of our compatriots were martyred and wounded.”
One state news agency said that at least 46 were dead and 143 wounded.
An international aid worker at the MSF hospital in the city said there were fears that the death toll could rise even further. “Hundreds of people are gathered at the main gate of the hospital and crying for their relatives but armed Taliban guys are trying to prevent gatherings in case another explosion is planned,” he said.
A female teacher said the blast happened near her house, and several of
‘Hundreds of people are gathering at the main gate of the hospital and crying for their relatives’
her neighbours were killed. “It was a very terrifying incident,” she said.
“Many of our neighbours have been killed and wounded. A 16-year-old neighbour was killed. They couldn’t find half of his body. Another neighbour who was 24 was killed as well.”
The Taliban have faced a growing tide of assassinations and bombings from the Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K). The same group also claimed responsibility for the bombing in the final days of the international airlift in
August that killed at least 169 Afghans and 13 US military personnel outside the Kabul airport.
Although the new rulers of Afghanistan have tried to downplay the security threat, privately Taliban commanders have said that the extremists represent the biggest threat to their re-established Islamic Emirate.
IS-K first arrived in 2014 and quickly made inroads in eastern Afghanistan
and several northern provinces. It grew via defections from militant groups, including the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban. The Afghan Taliban waged bloody campaigns against the militants driving them out of much of their territory, but they retain dangerous sleeper cells and had been expected to step up an urban terrorist campaign and sectarian attacks.
The continuing blasts challenge Taliban
assurances that they have brought peace and security after years of war.
The United Nations in Afghanistan said that it was “deeply concerned by reports of very high casualties” in the attack yesterday, calling it a “part of a disturbing pattern of violence”.
Filippo Grandi, the UN refugees chief, said the blast was “the symptom that the implosion [of Afghanistan] may also translate into renewed insecurity”.
This, Mr Grandi said, meant “more people killed, more terrorist attacks, more instability. And that is also something that we should all be worried about”.
Dost Mohammad Obaida, the deputy police chief for Kunduz province, said that an investigation was under way.
“I assure our Shiite brothers that the Taliban are prepared to ensure their safety,” he said.