Afghanistan: Deadly blast rips through crowded Kabul mosque
A huge explosion has ripped through a crowded mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing 21 people, police say.
Another 33 people were injured, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.
Wednesday’s blast occurred during evening prayers. The mosque’s imam is reported to be among the dead.
It is unclear who was behind the attack, a week after a Islamic State (IS) militants killed a pro-Taliban cleric in a suicide bomb blast, also in Kabul.
Security forces have now sealed off the blast scene in Kabul.
Witnesses described hearing a powerful explosion which shattered windows in nearby buildings.
Stefano Sozza, the head of the medical charity Emergency, which runs the city’s main hospital, said his group had already treated 35 people, including children.
“Our doctors… operated [on] the patients in need of surgical assistance all night long. The injuries were mainly related to the blast so there were shells inside the bodies and burning injuries all over the bodies of the victims”.
He said he believed the blast was inside the mosque. “There was probably someone entering during the prayer time, so it was crowded at that moment and then [the attacker] activated this body burning improvised explosive device.
Agencies