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Afghanistan Kabul mosque suicide attack kills dozens | Afghanistan Kabul mosque suicide attack kills dozens |
(35 minutes later) | |
A suicide bomber has killed at least 27 people in a suicide attack inside a Shia Muslim mosque in the Afghan capital, Kabul, police say. | A suicide bomber has killed at least 27 people in a suicide attack inside a Shia Muslim mosque in the Afghan capital, Kabul, police say. |
Another 35 were wounded in the blast at the Baqir ul Olum mosque. | Another 35 were wounded in the blast at the Baqir ul Olum mosque. |
The attacker was on foot and blew himself up among crowds inside the building, officials said. | |
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but it comes amid mounting sectarian attacks on Afghanistan's Shia community. | |
This latest bombing took place during a service to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson and Shia martyr. | |
According to eyewitnesses, the service was almost over when the bomb was detonated on the first floor. | |
"I was inside the mosque and the Mullah was reading the prayer," Ewaz Ali, 50 who suffered minor injuries, told the Associated Press news agency. | |
"Suddenly a huge explosion happened, then everywhere was dark." | |
Local reports suggest there are children among the dead. | |
Afghan government chief executive Abdullah Abdullah took to Twitter to urge the country not to fall victim to "enemy plots that divide us by titles". | |
"This attack targeted innocent civilians - including children - in a holy place." he said. "It is a war crime and an act against Islam & humanity." | |
Shia, who make up about 15% of the population of Afghanistan, have been spared the levels of sectarian violence seen by Pakistan and Iraq. | |
But Shia groups have been targeted at least three times in recent months, including in a gun attack on a shrine in Kabul in October and a blast during a Shia protest march in July, which left 80 dead. | |
They have all been claimed by so-called Islamic State, the Sunni Muslim militant group. | |
Taliban militants, who are seeking to reimpose Islamic rule in Afghanistan, were quick to distance themselves from Monday's attack. | |
"We condemn this blast," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the BBC. "This act cannot be our work and has nothing to do with us." | "We condemn this blast," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the BBC. "This act cannot be our work and has nothing to do with us." |