Explosion at mosque in Afghanistan kills 46
By Ehsan Popalzai and Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN
A suicide blast ripped through a Shia mosque in northern Afghanistan Friday, killing 46 people and injuring 143 others, provincial spokesman Matiullah Rohani told CNN.
The attack occurred during Friday prayers at the Sayed Abad mosque in Kunduz, Rohani said.
A Taliban spokesman said security forces were on the scene and an investigation was underway.
ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the blast, according to a statement released by the group’s media wing, Amaq. It added that a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest among Shia worshipers inside a mosque during Friday Prayers in Khan Abad district of Kunduz.
Friday’s mosque bombing “is part of a disturbing pattern of violence” and the third deadly attack this week “apparently targeting a religious institution,” the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Twitter.
The bombing comes days after another mosque was targeted in central Kabul, killing at least seven people. That attack on Monday targeted the gates of the Eidgah Mosque in the Afghan capital, where a funeral service was being held for the mother of Taliban spokesman Muhajid.
The Islamic State affiliate IS Khorasan (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for Monday’s bombing, one of a series of attacks the terror group has launched since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan more than a month ago. Others include a suicide attack at Kabul’s airport in August and a spate of bombings targeting members of the Taliban in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.
The group poses a threat to the country’s stability and the Taliban’s rule. In recent days, the Taliban have conducted several operations targeting ISIS-K militants.
The Taliban claimed to have killed at least nine ISIS-K members and detained five others in two operations last week, targeting ISIS hideouts in the central Afghan province of Parwan, according to local Taliban police chief Maulvi Abdul Qadir Haqqani.
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CNN’s Tara John, Clarissa Ward and Tim Lister contributed to this report.
