A large explosion hit Bibi Fatima mosque, the largest mosque for Shia worshippers in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, local media and international news agencies reported on Friday.
At least 32 people were killed and more than 40 wounded in the blast, according to officials and provincial leaders.
The blast at the mosque in the center of the city occurred during Friday prayers, which typically draws large crowds of worshippers.
Qari Saeed Khosti, the spokesman for the Taliban government’s interior ministry, said the explosion caused heavy casualties, reported local media and international news agencies.
Journalists shared graphic images on social media showing many people apparently dead or seriously wounded on the floor of the mosque.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, as the cause of the blast isn’t clear yet.
Khosti said authorities were collecting details of the explosion, which took place days after the so-called Islamic State (IS) group claimed a bombing at a Shi’ite mosque in the northern city of Kunduz that killed scores of people.
More than 100 people were killed or wounded in a suicide explosion in in the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque on October 8, in Kunduz, a northern Afghan city during Friday prayers, causing the country’s worst attack since the Taliban took over control in August, occurred.
The Taliban leadership has been grappling with a growing threat from the local Islamic State affiliate, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan (ISIS-K). The terrorist group has claimed two deadly bombings occurred in Kabul recently.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.