Blasts outside a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan immediately before prayers on Friday (September 2) raised fears of numerous casualties, according to local media. According to the governor of Herat province’s spokesman, Hameedullah Motawakel, “at least 18 persons were slain in the incident and 23 others were wounded.”
According to Reuters, who cited the local police, the explosion claimed the lives of a prominent pro-Taliban preacher, his bodyguards, and a number of innocent bystanders.
According to the reports, pro-Taliban cleric imam Mujib ur Rahman Ansari was killed in the explosion that took place outside the Gazargah Mosque immediately before Friday prayers.
Mahmood Rasoli, a spokesman for the Herat police, reported that Mujib Rahman Ansari had been assassinated along with some of his guards and bystanders while they were heading toward the mosque.
However, WION’s correspondent Anas Mallick had initially reported that at least 15 people were killed. Earlier reports did not specify how many casualties the explosion caused.
Since assuming power around a year ago, the Taliban claim to have increased security in the nation, but there have been a number of explosions in recent months, some of which targeted popular mosques during prayer.
In a series of explosions inside the Ghazargah mosque in Herat, a pro-Taliban imam was killed, according to a tweet from renowned Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary.
The deputy secretary for economic affairs of the prime minister, Abdullah Azzam, recently posted on his Twitter page that Mullah Baradar and Maulvi Ansari are also present in the province, according to Sarwary.
There were two explosions, according to the local resident who was quoted by the journalist. “I witnessed hundreds of dead bodies inside the mosque,” the resident claimed.
Locals in Herat also informed Sarwary that “Maulvi Ansari followers had congregated inside the mosque” where hundreds of people attended for Friday prayers.
Sarwary was informed by a medical source at one hospital, “There is no more room in the hospital morgue. There aren’t many doctors here. We lack sufficient blood. 200 people have been injured by us.”
For the Friday explosion, no one has taken responsibility.
