A Kabul police spokesperson said 21 people were dead and 33 were wounded. No group has taken responsibility for the Kabul Mosque Blast.
A blast that blasted through a mosque crowded with devotees in the Afghan capital killed more than 21 people and wounded at least two dozen people, police said on Thursday.
The number of blasts across Afghanistan has reduced since the Taliban came back to power in August the previous year. However, many attacks, including several target killings of minority communities, have shocked the nation in recent months, some of which were claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group.
No group has taken responsibility for Wednesday evening’s blast at Kabul’s Sediqia Mosque, which has an adjacent madrassa.
“He was my relative; may God forgive him,” said Masiullah, a resident who described how he learned of a relative’s death in the blast.
“One year had passed since his wedding. He was 27 years old and his name was Fardin. He was a good human being.” Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said, “21 people were killed and 33 were wounded.”
The Italian non-governmental organisation Emergency, which runs a hospital in Kabul, said on Wednesday evening, “It had received 21 victims along with three fatalities. Several patients were having a shell and burn injuries,” it said in an email.
In a subsequent tweet, the hospital said, “Five kids were among those it treated, along with a seven-year-old.” Local hospitals reached by AFP said, “They were not allowed to give details of victims they had treated.”
Downplay Incidents
Taliban officers argue that they have complete control over security in the nation but constantly deny or downplay incidents that are reported on the nation’s social media. They have also claimed to have begun violently preventing local and foreign media from reporting on the aftermath of attacks.
On Thursday, military forces of the Taliban stopped journalists from reaching the mosque site. Wednesday’s blast comes after a week when a suicide bomber killed top Taliban cleric Rahimullah Haqqani, together with his brother, at his madrassa in Kabul. Haqqani was famous for furious speeches against IS, which afterward claimed the attack.
The group has mainly targeted minority communities like Shiites, Sufis, and Sikhs. The Taliban say they have won against IS. However, experts claim the group remains a key security threat for hardline Islamists.
Although IS is a Sunni Islamist group like the Taliban, the two are angry enemies and largely diverge on ideological grounds.
The blast came as senior Taliban leaders on Thursday conducted a huge gathering of at least 2,000 people.
In a statement addressed to the media, a Taliban spokesperson said, “Important decisions will be taken at the conference.”
The Taliban on Monday marked the first anniversary of their coming back to power following a bitter year that saw women’s rights getting suppressed and a humanitarian crisis deteriorating.
Several restrictions have been slowly imposed. The nation is in an economic crisis, with its overseas assets frozen by Washington.
