Scores at funeral of top cleric

DESPITE a pandemic, several thousand people, including politicians and government officials, attended the funeral yesterday of a well-known cleric who was killed by a bomb earlier this week.

The funeral prayer was held at a football stadium in the east of the Afghan capital, Kabul, under strict security conditions.

Imam Mohammad Ayaz Niazi was one of two people killed after a bomb exploded in a Kabul mosque on Tuesday. Another two worshippers were hurt in the attack, which struck a high-security diplomatic area. Niazi was buried inside the compound of the mosque.

Prominent politicians, including President Ashraf Ghani, paid their last respects at the hospital where he died.

Islamic State has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ghani has announced that an elite team will investigate the bombing.

Niazi’s death sparked reactions across the country.

Attacks against worshippers have increased in Afghanistan recently.

GRAFFITI in memory of the late American George Floyd, painted on a perimeter wall by a group of Kenyan graffiti artists in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in the Kibera slums in Nairobi. People across the globe have protested against the killing of Floyd by Minneapolis police. | EPA