A massive explosion has killed more than 50 worshipers after Friday prayers in the Muslim region of Kabul, its leader said, following a recent spate of attacks on Afghan civilians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The blast hit the Khalifa Sahib Mosque in the western part of the capital in the late afternoon, said Besmullah Habib, a deputy interior spokesman, who said an official had confirmed that 10 people had been killed. Friday prayers for the church known as Zikr – a religious commemoration performed by some Muslims but by some strong Sunni groups are seen as heretical. Sayed Fazil Agha, head of the mosque, said there were those who believed he had committed suicide and joined them. event and fireworks.
“Dark smoke rose and spread everywhere, corpses were everywhere, adding that his nephews were among the dead. “I myself have survived, but I have lost my loved ones.” Resident Mohammad Sabir said he saw injured people being loaded into ambulances.
The United States and the United Nations in Afghanistan have condemned the attack, with the latter saying it was part of a recent spate of violence against minors and added that at least two UN staff members and their families were in a Muslim home. time to attack. There are no strong enough words to condemn this heinous act, “said Mette Knudsen, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Afghanistan.
Kabul City Emergency Hospital said it was treating 21 patients and two died on arrival. An employee at a hospital treating patients said they had received 49 patients and five bodies. Ten of the patients were in critical condition, a source said, and about 20 were taken to the burn. A spokesman for the Taliban ruling party, ZabihullahMujahid, issued a statement condemning the explosion and said the perpetrators would be found and punished. It is not yet clear who caused it. Dozens of Afghans have died in recent weeks in explosions, some of them. which have been claimed by the Islamic State.
The hospital said it had treated more than 100 patients injured during the Kabul attack in April alone. The latest attacks took place on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan where most Muslims fast, even before the religious holiday of Eid next week. The Taliban says it has defended the country since taking power in August and severely cut off the Islamic State branch, but international officials and analysts say the risk of a military outbreak still exists.
Most of the attacks were against minority Shi’ites, but Sunni churches were also targeted. Bombs exploded in two vans carrying Shi’ite Muslims in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday, killing nine people. Last Friday, an explosion ripped through a Muslim shrine during a Friday prayer service in the town of Kunduz, killing 33 people.
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