Wednesday evening, during evening prayers in a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul, at least 10 people, including a famous cleric, were murdered and at least 27 were injured, according to eyewitnesses and police.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, the latest to batter the country since the Taliban seized power a year ago. Multiple youngsters were reportedly among the injured.
The local ISIS offshoot has intensified attacks on the Taliban and civilians since the former insurgents’ takeover in August, when U.S. and NATO troops were nearing the end of their pullout. ISIS claimed responsibility last week for the assassination of a top Taliban leader at his religious center in Kabul.
According to a resident of the city’s Kher Khanna district, where the Siddiquiya Mosque was attacked, a suicide bomber was responsible for the blast. The deceased cleric was Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli, according to the witness, who requested anonymity because he was not permitted to communicate with the media.
He said that about thirty additional people were injured. At least 27 wounded civilians, including five children, were transported to the Italian Emergency hospital in Kabul from the blast location, according to the hospital.
Afghanistan On August 18, 2022, mourners carry the body of a victim of a mosque bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The Taliban-appointed spokesperson for the Kabul police commander, Khalid Zadran, confirmed an explosion inside a mosque in northern Kabul but refused to provide a fatality count or a breakdown of the dead and wounded.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, condemned the explosion and warned that the “perpetrators of such atrocities will be brought to justice and punished”
There were fears that the number of casualties could increase further. A witness to the explosion identified as Qyaamuddin told The Associated Press on Thursday morning that he estimated as many as 25 people were killed in the explosion.
“I was participating in evening prayer with others when the explosion occurred,” Qyaamuddin explained. Some Afghans have only one name.
From a nearby hill, AP journalists could see the blue-roofed Sunni mosque. At the mosque, the Taliban parked police vans and other vehicles.
Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, a U.S.-led invasion overthrew the Taliban administration, which had housed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
The international world, which does not recognize the Taliban government, has frozen assistance to the country since the former militants’ return to power.
Separately, the Taliban stated on Wednesday that they had kidnapped and executed Mehdi Mujahid in western Herat province as he attempted to enter Iran.
Mujahid was a former Taliban leader in the Balkhab region of northern Sar-e-Pul province and the lone member of the minority Shi’a Hazara community within the Taliban ranks.
Over the previous year, Mujahid had turned against the Taliban after criticizing decisions made by Taliban authorities in Kabul.