Attack fills mosque’s garden with graves

KABUL, Afghanistan — Overnight, a small garden of pink and red roses at a Shiite mosque in Kabul was turned into a cemetery.

Before Friday, old men had often lingered in the garden, thumbing their prayer beads or making small talk before entering the worship hall. But Saturday, some of those men were buried in the garden, some with their wives, all victims of a terrorist attack.

The exact death toll from the attack on the Imam Zaman mosque, which lasted nearly four hours, is unclear. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission put the number of dead at 40 and said 90 people were wounded. Congregation members said at least 40 people had been killed and possibly more than 50.

At least six attacks on Shiite places of worship in Afghanistan have left more than 80 dead this year. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for many of those attacks, including the one Friday.

The elders at the Imam Zaman mosque, in northern Kabul, said the burial of the dead in the garden would help congregation members in the years to come remember the cost of a simple prayer.

“We wanted this to be their memorial also, so everyone coming for worship can pray for their souls,” said Hajji Abdul Razaq Sakha, one of the elders of the mosque. “This is our place of prayer; this is our fortress. They can kill us, but we won’t leave.”

Details of the assault and the attackers remained unclear. Mosque elders, as well as some security officials, said four suicide bombers had entered after shooting the guard and had shot their way upstairs to the women’s section. Most of the men who survived the first round of gunfire rushed through the back doors or jumped from the windows. Dozens hid at the home of the mosque’s imam, in the corner of the compound.