New Delhi: At least 100 people were killed and wounded in a mosque explosion targeting Shiite Muslims in northern Afghanistan. “Majority of them have been killed,” Taliban official, Dost Mohammad Obaida was quoted as saying by AP, The Indian Express reported.
If confirmed, the death toll in Friday’s attack would be the highest in an attack by militants since US and NATO troops left Afghanistan at the end of August and the Taliban took control of the country, the report added.
The blast occurred in a Shiite mosque in Kunduz province during the weekly Friday prayer service at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque when members of the Shiite religious minority typically come in large numbers for worship.
Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid was quoted as saying the Shiite mosque was the target and that a “large number” of worshippers were killed and wounded. He said Taliban special forces had arrived at the scene and were investigating the incident.
The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. No group has yet claimed responsibility for it.
