Dozens at Afghan mosque for prayers die in suicide bombing claimed by ISIS
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber slipped into a crowded Shiite mosque in Kabul on Monday and blew himself up during a prayer ceremony, killing at least 30 people and wounding scores in the latest attack claimed by the Islamic State on Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.
The Amaq news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic State, carried a statement saying that a member of the militant group had carried out the blast, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online messages from extremist factions.
The midday attack occurred in the Baqir-ul Ulom mosque and cultural center in a Shiite district in western Kabul during a ceremony marking the end of the traditional 40day mourning period since Ashura, one of the holiest days in the Shiite calendar. An attack on another Kabul mosque during Ashura killed 17 people.
Several hours after Monday’s blast, volunteers were sweeping glass from shattered windows and rolling up bloodstained carpets in the main worship hall.
“I heard a huge noise and the room filled with smoke. When it cleared, I saw bodies everywhere,” said Hussein Ali Nazari, 37, one of the volunteers.
Huge chunks from the badly damaged stone pillars lining the large prayer room littered the floor. Near the ceiling, a sign in Arabic said, “A mosque is only for spiritual pursuits.”
Nazari said several hundred men and boys had been praying in the main hall at noon when the bomber struck among them. Women and girls had been gathered on an upstairs balcony. He said survivors used scarves and shawls to carry the dead and wounded outside until ambulances arrived.
The Ministry of Public Health reported late Monday that at least 30 people were killed, including children, and about 80 injured.
Officials from the United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan condemned the attack as an “atrocity.” The U.S. Embassy and the U.S. military assistance mission also issued statements condemning the attack.