Scores are killed and wounded at Mosque
A BLAST has hit a mosque packed with Shiite Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan, killing or wounding at least 100 people, a Taliban police official said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which took place in Kunduz, the capital of Kunduz province, but militants from the socalled Islamic State group have a long history of attacking Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.
Dost Mohammad Obaida, the deputy police chief for Kunduz province, said the “majority of them have been killed”, in reference to the victims. He said the attack may have been carried out by a suicide bomber who had mingled among worshippers inside the mosque.
“I assure our Shiite brothers that the Taliban are prepared to ensure their safety,” Mr Obaida said, adding that an investigation was under way.
If confirmed, a death toll of dozens would be the highest since US and Nato forces left Afghanistan at the end of August and the Taliban took control of the country.
The Taliban have been targeted in a series of attacks by rival IS militants, including shooting ambushes and an explosion at a mosque in the capital of Kabul.
The Kunduz explosion went off during the weekly Friday prayer service at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque.
The stairs at the entrance of the mosque were covered in blood, while debris from the blast covered the floor and the mosque’s lofty ceiling was charred black.
A local resident, Hussaindad Rezayee, said he rushed to the mosque as soon as the explosion went off.
“I was busy at home doing construction work, and when the prayers started, the explosion happened,” he said. “I came to look for my relatives, the mosque was full.”
Chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Shiite mosque was the target and a “large number” of worshippers were killed and wounded. He said Taliban special forces had arrived at the scene and were investigating.
The Taliban leadership has been grappling with a growing threat from the local IS affiliate, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan.
IS militants have ramped up attacks to target their rivals, including two recent deadly bombings in Kabul.
IS has also declared war on Afghanistan’s minority Shiites and has claimed some of the worst attacks targeting the community, including on mosques in Kabul and the western province of Herat.
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan condemned yesterday’s attack, saying it was “part of a disturbing pattern of violence” targeting religious institutions.