At least 18 folks, together with a distinguished cleric, were killed after an explosion tore thru a crowded mosque in western Afghanistan.
More than 20 others have been injured within the blast within the Guzargah Mosque within the town of Herat throughout Friday midday prayers, Taliban officers stated. There are fears that the dying toll may upward thrust.
The explosion reportedly killed Mujib-ul Rahman Ansari, a cleric who was once well known for his grievance of the rustic’s earlier Western-backed governments.
Ansari was once noticed as as regards to the Taliban who seized keep watch over over the rustic closing yr following the withdrawal of US forces. His dying was once showed via the manager Taliban individuals, Zabihullah Mujahid.
There was once no instant declare of duty for Friday’s blast.
Previous mosque assaults were claimed via the so-called Islamic State (IS) extremist crew, which has performed a sequence of assaults towards non secular and ethnic minorities in Afghanistan.
In the yr because the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, IS have attacked a number of mosques in suicide assaults throughout Friday prayerswith a focal point on focused on Shiite Muslims.
The Herat mosque normally attracts fans of Sunni Islam, the dominant circulate in Afghanistan that also is adopted via the Taliban.
