Suspected suicide bomber kills 50 inside Kabul mosque

AT least 50 people have died after an explosion tore through a Kabul mosque, causing the roof to collapse.

The explosion struck a Sunni mosque in the centre of the Afghan capital.

Sufi worshippers at the Khalifa Sahib Mosque in the west of the capital had gathered to perform rituals after completing Friday prayers when the bomber hit.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Islamic State has claimed a string of attacks in recent days and the ritual is seen as heretical by some hardline groups.

Sayed Fazil Agha, the head of the mosque, believed a suicide bomber was responsible.

“Black smoke rose and spread everywhere, dead bodies were everywhere,” he said, adding that his nephews were among the dead. “I survived, but lost my beloved ones.”

Unverified footage from the scene showed bloodied and burned casualties being helped to taxis and ambulances. Between 300 and 400 people were thought to have been inside at the time of the explosion.

The Taliban, which took power in August last year after the collapse of the internationally backed government, condemned the attack.

The group has been fighting against an IS insurgency since assuming power.

Attacks had appeared to ease off during the winter months, but have returned in the past two weeks.

Many of the recent attacks have targeted Afghanistan’s Shia minority. On Thursday, bombs exploded aboard two vans carrying Shias in Mazar-e-sharif, killing at least nine people.

And last Friday, a blast tore through a Sunni mosque during Friday prayers in the city of Kunduz, killing 33 worshippers.