(Kabul) At least seven people were killed and 15 injured in a suicide attack at a Shiite mosque in northern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, the Taliban government said.
The explosion, which took place while worshipers were gathered in the Imam Zaman mosque in Pol-e-Khomri, capital of Baghlan province, was claimed by the Islamic State group.
An ISIS member ‘reached the center of the rally […] and detonated his explosive belt,” according to a statement from the jihadists’ Amaq news agency.
“Security forces and investigators have visited the scene of the incident to determine how this deplorable event occurred,” said Baghlan provincial information officer Mustafa Asadullah Hashimi.
“Investigations are continuing,” he added, confirming the death toll.
A source from the Baghlan provincial hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, reported a higher toll, saying that 19 bodies and 40 injured had been transported to the hospital.
“Dead and injured people were also transported to other private hospitals,” he told AFP.
“A terrible noise”
Several attacks on mosques, particularly during Friday prayers, have taken place in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
“There was a terrible noise,” said Abdul Hamid, one of the witnesses. “After the explosion, a large number of killed and injured people were taken to hospital.”
Habibullah, another resident of Pol-e-Khomri, said the detonation occurred in a “Shiite mosque” when “people were praying”.
“Everyone is trying to find their family members, but no one is allowed to enter the hospital,” a resident searching for relatives told AFP.
The Taliban’s return to power ended two decades of war in Afghanistan and led to a significant reduction in violence.
The authorities claim to have security in the country under control, but dozens of attacks targeting civilians have been carried out over the past two years. Most have been claimed by IS-K, the local chapter of the Islamic State (IS) group.
Hundreds of people have been killed or injured in these attacks, mainly targeting Shiite, Sufi and Sikh religious minorities, foreigners or foreign interests, and the Taliban themselves.
ISIS is held responsible for the bomb attack in a study room in a Shiite minority neighborhood of Kabul which in September 2022 left at least 53 dead, including 46 girls, according to the Nations united.
ISIS seeks “to provoke an inter-religious conflict and destabilize the region”, and since 2022 has committed more than 190 suicide bombings, leaving some 1,300 dead or injured, a report from the Security Council of the Islamic State highlighted in May. ‘UN.
Analysts consider that the jihadists of IS, a Sunni group like the Taliban, but with which the latter maintain deep enmity and ideological differences, remain the main threat weighing on the Kabul regime.
The presence of IS fighters in Afghanistan is also raising tensions with neighboring Pakistan, which says the jihadists are crossing the border to strike targets on its territory.