2nd Bombing in Afghan Capital in a Matter of Days Kills 12 Worshippers at Mosque
A bomb ripped through a mosque in northern Kabul on Friday, killing 12 worshippers and wounding 15, Afghan police said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, the latest in a surge in violence as U.S. and NATO troops have begun their final withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.
According to Afghan police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz, the bomb exploded as prayers had begun.
The mosque’s imam, Mofti Noman, was among the dead, Faramarz said. The initial police investigation suggests Noman may have been the target.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied any insurgent connection to the attack, condemning it and accusing Afghanistan’s intelligence agency of being behind the explosion.
The Taliban and the Afghan government routinely blame each other for attacks. The attackers are rarely identified, and the public is seldom informed of the results of investigations into attacks in the capital.
One worshipper, Muhibullah Sahebzada, said he had just stepped into the building when the explosion went off.
Stunned, he heard the sound of screams, including those of children, as smoke filled the mosque.
Sahebzada said he saw several bodies on the floor, and at least one child was among the wounded. It appeared the explosive device had been hidden inside the pulpit at the front of the mosque, he added.
An image circulating on social media shows three bodies lying on the floor of the mosque.
The explosion comes on the second day of a three-day ceasefire announced by the Taliban for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which follows the fasting month of Ramadan. The Afghan government had also said it would abide by a truce during the holiday.
So far, many of the attacks in Kabul have been claimed by the Islamic State group’s local affiliate.
On Saturday, a powerful car bombing in Kabul killed over 90 people, many of them students leaving a girls’ school. The Taliban denied involvement and condemned the attack.
Earlier this week, U.S. troops left southern Kandahar, where some NATO forces still remain. At the war’s peak, more than 30,000 U.S. troops were stationed in Kandahar, the Taliban heartland.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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