At least seven people were killed and 15 others injured in an explosion at a Shiite mosque in northern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, the Taliban government said on Friday, October 13.
The explosion, which occurred as worshipers gathered at the Imam Zaman Mosque in Pol-e-Khomri, the capital of Baghlan province, was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. An IS member “reached the center of the gathering (…) and detonated his explosive belt,” said a statement from the communications organ Amaq.
“Security forces and investigators have visited the scene of the incident to find out how this unfortunate event occurred,” said Mustafa Asadullah Hashimi, information officer for Baghlan province. “The investigation is ongoing,” he added, confirming the death toll.
“I condemn it in the strongest terms, but at the moment I don’t have all the information,” deputy government spokesman Bilal Karimi told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Since the Taliban came to power in August 2021, there have been several attacks on mosques in Afghanistan, particularly during Friday prayers.
Dozens of attacks in the last two years
A source at Baghlan Provincial Hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, reported a higher number, saying that nineteen bodies and forty injured people had been transported to the hospital. “Dead and injured people were also transported to other private hospitals,” he told AFP.
The Taliban’s return to power ended two decades of war in Afghanistan and led to a significant decrease in violence. But even as authorities claim to have security in the country under control, dozens of attacks on civilians have been carried out in the country in the last two years. Most were claimed by ISIS-K, the local branch of the Islamic State terrorist militia. Hundreds of people were killed or injured in these attacks. The attacks primarily targeted Shia, Sufi and Sikh religious minorities, foreigners or foreign interest groups, and the Taliban themselves.
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Analysts believe that the jihadists of IS, a Sunni group like the Taliban but with whom they have deep enmity and ideological differences, continue to pose the greatest threat to the Kabul regime.