Dozens die in bomb attack on mosque

AT LEAST 62 people have been killed in an attack on a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, says 36 others were wounded in the attack in the Haskamena district of Nagarhar province. He said there were children among the dead and wounded.

He added that it was not immediately clear if the mosque was attacked by a suicide bomber or some other type of bombing.

The attack caused the roof to collapse as dozens of people gathered inside the mosque to offer weekly Friday prayers.

No one immediately claimed the attack, but the Taliban and the so-called Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially Nangarhar province.

Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, condemned the attack, tweeting: “The Taliban and their partners heinous crimes continue to target civilians in time of worship.”

However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack and called it a serious crime.

In western Herat province, six civilians including four children were killed when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, said Jelani Farhad, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Mr Farhad added that five other civilians were wounded in the attack in the Zawal district.

The violence comes a day after a UN report said Afghan civilians are dying in record numbers in the increasingly brutal war, noting that more civilians died in July than in any previous one-month period since the UN began keeping statistics.

The report said 2,563 civilians were killed and 5,676 were wounded in the first nine months of this year. Insurgents were responsible for 62 per cent. July to September were the deadliest months so far this year.