By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL, Afghanistan (AA): A blast inside a mosque during Friday prayer killed at least four people and wounded eight in the Afghan capital Kabul, an official confirmed.
Tariq Aryan, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told Anadolu Agency that the incident took place in the posh Karta-4 neighborhood of the city. He confirmed that at least four people, including the imam, were killed in the attack.
“Explosives placed inside the Sher Shah Suri Mosque exploded during Friday prayers,” said a Ministry of Interior statement, adding that the West Kabul mosque’s imam Azizullah Mofleh was among the dead.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The Taliban insurgents were quick to distance themselves from this attack.
In a social media post, the group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahed, said this attack is part of conspiracy by the “enemy” at a crucial time when peace talks are advancing.
“Such systematic killings have begun taking place as the Afghan people have started taking steps towards peace,” Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
The attack has been widely condemned.
The Afghan government dubbed the attack as “inhuman” and “against the principles of Islam.”
Stefano Pontecorvo, NATO’s senior civilian representative in Kabul, stressed the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
“As we face a historical opportunity for peace, spoilers can’t be allowed to disrupt it. We stand with #Afghanistan in the fight against terror,” he said on Twitter.
On June 2, a strong Daesh-claimed blast inside a mosque rocked presumably the safest diplomatic enclave of Kabul killing the mosque’s famous prayer leader Mawlana Ayaz Niazi and another man, while injuring eight people.
Distancing themselves from that incident, the Taliban insurgents dubbed it as a “massive crime.”
Additional report by The Muslim News
[Photo: Afghan forces take security measurements after a blast inside a Sher Shah Suri Mosque during Friday prayers on June 12, 2020. Photographer: Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/AA]