KABUL: A blast in the Afghan capital ripped through a Sunni mosque and killed at least 10 people on Friday, an interior ministry official said.
A wave of deadly bombings has rocked the country in the last two weeks of the fasting month of Ramadan — some claimed by the Daesh group — killing dozens of civilians.
“Many worshippers were at the Khalifa Sahib mosque when the blast went off,” a survivor who gave his name as Ahmad told AFP.
“Many victims were thrown off their feet.”
Bloodied casualties were ferried in ambulances to a hospital in central Kabul but Taliban fighters barred journalists from accessing the facility.
“The blast occurred two hours after Friday prayers as worshippers were performing rituals,” interior ministry deputy spokesman Bismillah Habib told AFP, adding at least 15 people were injured.
Friday’s blast came hours after Afghanistan’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada praised the country’s security apparatus in a message ahead of the Eid Al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
While he made no mention of the recent spate of bombings, he said Afghanistan had been able to build “a strong Islamic and national army,” as well as “a strong intelligence organization.”
Several recent bombings have targeted the minority Shiite community, but Friday’s blast was at a Sunni mosque.
It comes a day after two bombs on separate minibuses killed at least nine people in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, targeting Shiite passengers heading home to break their fast.
A bomb at a Shiite mosque in the city a week earlier killed at least 12 worshippers and wounded scores more.
Daesh has claimed responsibility for several of the recent attacks.
The regional branch of the militant group in Sunni-majority Afghanistan has repeatedly targeted Shiites and minorities such as Sufis, who follow a mystical branch of Islam.
Daesh — a Sunni militant group — is a bitter rival of the new Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.
The Taliban pursued an Afghanistan free of foreign forces, whereas Daesh wants an “Islamic caliphate” stretching from Turkey to Pakistan and beyond.
Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated Daesh, but analysts say the militant group remains a key security challenge.
Up to 10 killed as blast rips through mosque in Afghan capital
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Up to 10 killed as blast rips through mosque in Afghan capital
- Casualties were ferried in ambulances to a Kabul hospital hours after Friday prayers
- A wave of deadly bombings has rocked Afghanistan in the last two weeks of Ramadan
26 Doctors without Borders workers remain unaccounted for in South Sudan a month after attacks
- A hospital in the town of Lankien was bombed by government forces, MSF said
- “We have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity”
NAIROBI: More than two dozen Doctors Without Borders workers remain unaccounted for a month after attacks in South Sudan, the medical charity said.
Two facilities belonging to the group, known by French acronym MSF, were attacked on Feb. 3 in Jonglei State, northeast of the capital, Juba, where violence has displaced an estimated 280,000 people since December.
A hospital in the town of Lankien was bombed by government forces, MSF said, while another medical facility in the town of Pieri was raided by “unknown assailants.” Both were located in opposition-held areas.
Staff working at the two facilities fled alongside much of the local population into deeply rural areas where armed clashes and aerial bombardments were ongoing.
MSF said in a statement on Monday that “26 of 291 of our colleagues working in Lankien and Pieri remain unaccounted for.
“We have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity,” it said.
The lack of communication with its staff could be linked to the limited network connectivity in much of the state. Staff members who had been contacted described “destruction, violence and extreme hardships.”
Fighting escalated sharply in December, when opposition forces captured a string of government outposts in north central Jonglei. In January, the government responded with a counteroffensive that recaptured most of the area it had lost.
Displaced people in Akobo, an opposition-held town near the Ethiopian border, described horrific violence by government fighters. Many described not being able to find food or water as they walked for days to reach safety.
The attacks on MSF facilities in Lankien and Pieri are part of an uptick in violence on humanitarian staff, supplies and infrastructure, aid groups say. MSF facilities have been attacked 10 times in the last 12 months.
“This violence has taken an unbearable toll not only on health care services, but on the very people who kept them running,” said Yashovardhan, MSF head of mission in South Sudan, who only uses one name.
“Medical workers must never be targets,” he said. “We are deeply concerned about what has happened to our colleagues and the communities we serve.”
