At least 13 people killed in Afghan mosque blast

KABUL: A blast inside a mosque in Afghanistan’s south-eastern Khost province left at least 13 people dead, while seven civilians were killed after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in northern Farah province, officials said.

A woman was also among the dead from the blast that took place inside the Yaqoobi mosque, set up as a voter registration centre in Khost city, around 2:30 pm (1000 GMT), Basir Bina, a spokesman for the Khost police force, said.

At least 30 others including a policeman, were injured in the blast, Bina said.

Bina said “the victims of the attack had gathered at the voting registration centre to register” for the upcoming parliamentary and provincial council elections scheduled for October 20.

Khost provincial council member Abdul Wali Wahidzai said at least 12 people were killed and at least 33 others were injured.

Wahidzai, who had earlier said that the blast was triggered by a suicide bomber, clarified that the information at the moment was unclear about the exact cause of the blast. Citing a doctor, Bilal Sarwary, a journalist running for parliament from his home province of eastern Kunar, said at least 21 people were killed.

An image on Afghan news agency Khabarnam showed broken tables and chairs, discarded paper and blood.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

According to the UN civilian casualties quarterly report in April, suicide and complex attacks are the leading cause of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, accounting for 33 per cent of the total.

The report says that 236 people were killed and 515 others were injured from suicide bombings between January and March this year.

A suicide bombing at a national ID distribution centre set up to provide identification cards to voters ahead of the elections killed 60 and injured 129 others on April 22.

Meanwhile, seven civilians were killed after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s northern Farah province on Sunday, an official said.