News / Afghanistan

Several killed as bombing rips through mosque in Afghan capital

Wednesday, 17 August 2022 5:14 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 17 August 2022 9:46 PM ]

Picture obtained from Twitter on August 17, 2022 shows the immediate aftermath of an explosion in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

A huge explosion has targeted a mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least three people and wounding more than 25 others.

The attack took place in the Khair Khana neighborhood of the city during evening prayers on Wednesday, reports said.

Italian non-governmental organization (NGO) Emergency, which operates a hospital in Kabul, said it had received 27 victims, including three fatalities.

"We have recorded three fatalities," Emergency told AFP via email.

"Most of the patients we received following the explosion inside a mosque are suffering from shell and burn injuries," the NGO added.

The hospital noted in a tweet that the wounded included five children, one of them a 7-year-old.

🔴 #Afghanistan #Kabul: 27 people received at our hospital so far following an explosion in the PD17 area. 5 children among them, including a 7-year-old.
— EMERGENCY NGO (@emergency_ngo) August 17, 2022

Tolo News, Afghanistan's leading private news channel, quoted Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirming that the blast occurred in police district (PD) 17 of Kabul.

He said security forces have arrived in the area, without giving more details.

A Twitter user claimed that today's attack killed among others a religious cleric, Amir Mohammad Kabuli, but the news has not been confirmed by the Taliban.

The user said Kabuli was a Sufi scholar and that the Daesh terrorist group was most likely behind the attack.

Today's #Kabul #explosion reportedly killed a religious scholar Amir Mohammad Kabuli, in a mosque in Khair Khana area of the city.
No official info from the TB sources available yet.
According to my info, Kabuli was a #Sufi scholar& ISKP is the prime suapect behind the explosion. https://t.co/kS503N8GVS
— Afghan Analyst (@AfghanAnalyst2) August 17, 2022

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but local sources say it could be the handiwork of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group that has carried out many such attacks in recent months.

Last week a prominent pro-Taliban cleric was killed in a suicide blast in Kabul. The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Today's attack comes two days after the first anniversary of the US withdrawal and the Taliban’s comeback in the war-ravaged country.

The US evacuated thousands of troops from Afghanistan in a matter of just a few days last year, following President Joe Biden’s order for the forces to exit fully by August 30, 2021.

The withdrawal marked the end of two decades of US-led war in Afghanistan, which had allegedly sought to bring peace to the country, but left a trail of chaos and mayhem.

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