Blast at Shiite mosque in Afghan city kills 50

At least 50 people died in a suicide bomb blast at a Shiite mosque in Kunduz city of Afghanistan on Friday (October 8).

A Taliban police official said no one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but militants from the Islamic State group have a long history of attacking Afghanistans Shiite Muslim minority.

Deputy police chief for Kunduz province, Dost Mohammad Obaida, said the attack may have been carried out by a suicide bomber.

“I assure our Shiite brothers that the Taliban are prepared to ensure their safety,” Obaida said, adding that an investigation was underway.

This is the worst terror attack in Afghanistan since U.S. and NATO forces left Afghanistan at the end of August and the Taliban took charge. The Taliban have been targeted in a series of deadly IS attacks, including shooting ambushes and an explosion at a mosque in the capital of Kabul.

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The explosion went off during the weekly Friday prayer service at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque. The Friday noon prayer is the highlight of the Muslim religious week, and mosques are typically crowded. Witness Ali Reza said he was praying at the time of the explosion and reported seeing many casualties.

Photos and video from the scene showed rescuers carrying a body wrapped in a blanket from the mosque to an ambulance. The stairs at the entrance of the mosque were covered in blood.

Earlier Friday, the chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Shiite mosque was the target and that a large number of worshippers were killed and wounded. He said Taliban special forces had arrived to the scene and were investigating the incident.

The Taliban leadership has been grappling with a growing threat from the local Islamic State affiliate, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan. IS militants have ramped up attacks to target their rivals, including two deadly bombings in Kabul.
IS has also targeted Afghanistans religious minorities in attacks.

The local Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for the horrific Aug. 26 bombing that killed at least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel outside the Kabul airport in the final days of the chaotic American pullout from Afghanistan.

Since the U.S. pullout, IS attacks have been mostly in eastern Afghanistan the regional base for the IS affiliate and in Kabul.

Ethnic Hazaras, who are mostly minority Shiite Muslims, make up about 6% of Kunduzs population of nearly 1 million people. The province also has a large ethnic Uzbek population that has been targeted for recruitment by the IS, which is closely aligned with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Fridays attack, if claimed by IS, will also be worrying for Afghanistans northern Central Asian neighbours and Russia, which has been courting the Taliban for years as an ally against the creeping IS in the area. (AP) RS RS