By Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat
KABUL, Afghanistan (AA): Dozens of people were killed in the northeastern Kunduz province of Afghanistan as an explosion struck a mosque shortly after the Friday prayers.
Taliban’s interim government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a total of 33 people, including children, were killed and 43 others were wounded by the blast and vowed to arrest the perpetrators behind the deadly incident.
“The blast occurred at a mosque in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz killing 33 civilians including children,” Information Minister Mujahid said on Twitter, adding another 43 people were wounded.
“We condemn this crime … and express our deepest condolences to the victims,” said Mujahid.
The district security chief, Hafiz Omar, said the blast occurred at 3:30 pm after explosives placed in the Mawlawi Sekandar mosque detonated while many people were there to worship. The mosque is also used as a religious seminary.
Eye witnessed said the powerful explosion took place shortly after the end of the Friday prayers, damaging the building severely, and the bombing has not yet been claimed by any organization.
Earlier Thursday, an explosion at a Shia Muslim mosque in Mazar-i Sharif city left many Afghans dead and the terror group Daesh, also known as ISIS, claimed the deadly attack.
Eight others were killed in other mosque bombings in Kunduz and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan the previous day as well.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned on Friday a series of bomb attacks across Afghanistan that left dozens of people dead, and injured many others.
Guterres “extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a swift recovery to those injured,” his spokesman said.
“Attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including mosques, are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Eri Kaneko said in a statement.
The multiple blasts targeting civilians in Afghanistan, currently ruled by the interim Taliban-led administration, raise security concerns after months of relative peace.
*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas in Ankara
Additional report by The Muslim News
[Map of Afghanistan by Tooby/Public Domain]
