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ISIS Claims Attack on Shiite Mosque in Kabul That Killed at Least 32 Twin Mosque Attacks Kill Scores in One of Afghanistan’s Deadliest Weeks
(about 5 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber detonated explosives in a Shiite mosque in Kabul on Friday as worshipers were gathering for evening prayer, killing at least 32 people in the latest in a series of attacks against Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan. KABUL, Afghanistan — Just like any other day, Zareen Gul, 60, held the hand of her grandson, Ali Seyar Nazari, 10, and left home to attend the early evening prayer in their neighborhood mosque in the west of Kabul.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that one of its fighters in what it called Khorasan Province, an ancient name for the region that includes Afghanistan, had detonated an explosive vest inside the mosque. This time, however, they did not return home. Their family found their remains, barely identifiable from the clothes they wore, at a hospital after an Islamic State suicide bomber targeted the prayer.
Precise casualty figures were not immediately clear, as bodies and the injured were loaded into police vehicles and ambulances and taken to hospitals. Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for the police in Kabul, said that in addition to the 32 killed, 41 others were wounded. Ms. Gul and young Seyar became the latest victims of what has been one of Afghanistan’s deadliest weeks. The death toll from twin attacks on mosques late on Friday, just hours apart, was raised on Saturday to at least 67 people killed and dozens wounded. As many as 88 may have died in the two attacks.
They were taken to hospitals immediately after the explosion, and Ismail Kawoosi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said he feared the toll would rise. More than 200 people, both civilians and security personnel, have been killed this week in Afghanistan in six attacks. A precise casualty total is hard to get, as varying levels of violence rage in more than half the country’s provinces.
Witnesses said the number of the dead could be as many as 50, since the mosque, Imam Zaman, located on the west side of the city, had been full of worshipers. “This week alone, hundreds of Afghan civilians going about their daily lives, including practicing their religious faith, have fallen victims to brutal acts of violence,” António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, said in a statement. “The cycle of violence must end and dialogue commence.”
“I was in front of the mosque when the explosion happened, and I fell on the ground,” said Sayed Nazer, a witness. “When I stood up, some people were rushing inside the mosque and some running outside. I saw three police pickup trucks full of bodies taken away, before even ambulances arrived. I think it could be 50 dead at least.” Late Saturday afternoon, another suicide bombing was carried out in Kabul, targeting a minibus carrying students from the city’s military academy. “Fourteen officers were killed. We don’t have information on the number of wounded,” said Gen. Mohammad Radmanish, a spokesman for the Afghan defense ministry.
Another attack on a Sunni mosque in the western province of Ghor on Friday afternoon killed at least 10 people and wounded several others, officials said. Local news reports put the number of dead at 30. The country’s security forces have suffered heavy casualties this week, with at least 89 killed in three Taliban attacks nationwide.
That attack, in the Dolaina district, targeted a local commander who had been praying there, according to Abudl Hamid Natiqi, a member of the provincial council in Ghor. Ms. Gul and Seyar were among the 58 killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives in the Imam Zaman Shiite mosque in the west of Kabul.
The number of attacks against the places of worship of the Shiite minority this year have alarmed many Afghans. The other mosque attack happened in Dolaina district, in the western province of Ghor, and the exact casualty toll was contested. Two senior security officials put the death toll at 21, while the district’s governor told local Afghan media that 30 people had been killed. However, Bismillah Khan, the head of criminal investigations at the district’s police force, insisted only 9 people had died.
After the explosion, emotions ran high outside the mosque. Many people had escaped the mosque in Kabul barefoot, and some protested what they saw as the government’s perceived inability to protect the country’s Shiites, chanting, “Death to Ashraf Ghani,” Afghanistan’s president. While no group claimed responsibility for the Ghor attack, the Islamic State, in a statement, said that one of its fighters in what it called Khorasan Province, an ancient name for the region that includes Afghanistan, had detonated an explosive vest inside the mosque in Western Kabul.
While the Islamic State, known as ISIS or ISI, has claimed most of the attacks targeting Shiites in Afghanistan, western and Afghan officials still have doubts about what constitutes the group in Afghanistan. They question whether it coordinates with the Islamic State central in Iraq or Syria, or if it is just another umbrella group that overlaps with some of the more extreme elements of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban. “There were about 300 worshipers inside the mosque, with women on one side,” said Mohammed Ibrahim, a neighborhood leader who was surveying the destruction on Saturday. The pulpit, the walls, as well much of the carpet in the front of the hall was covered in blood.
In August, Islamic State suicide bombers stormed a mosque in north of Kabul during Friday prayers, leaving at least 40 worshipers dead. Weeks earlier, an attack on another mosque in the western city of Herat killed scores. “The figure I got from the security forces today is that 58 people are killed and 64 wounded in last night’s suicide attack,” Mr. Ibrahim said. “Among those killed were 6 children underage 12 and four women.”
Sayed Nazer, a witness, said he was in front of the mosque arriving for prayer when the explosion knocked him to the ground.
“When I stood up, some people were rushing inside the mosque and some running outside. I saw three police pickup trucks full of bodies taken away, before even ambulances arrived.”
The number of attacks this year against the places of worship of the Shiite minority have alarmed many Afghans. The United Nations, before Friday’s attack, said at least 84 Shiites have been killed and nearly 200 injured in attacks on mosques this year.
While the Islamic State has claimed most of the attacks targeting Shiites in Afghanistan, both Western and Afghan officials still have doubts about the group’s role in Afghanistan. They question whether there is coordination with Iraq and Syria, or if the group claiming affiliation with the Islamic State overlaps with some of the more extreme elements of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban.
In August, Islamic State suicide bombers stormed a mosque in north Kabul during Friday prayers, leaving at least 40 worshipers dead. Weeks earlier, an attack on another mosque in the western city of Herat killed scores.
After the explosion at Imam Zaman mosque, emotions ran high outside. Many people had escaped the mosque in Kabul barefoot, and some protested what they saw as the government’s perceived inability to protect the country’s Shiites, chanting, “Death to Ashraf Ghani,” Afghanistan’s president.
On Saturday, relatives prepared for burial the bodies of Ms. Gul and Seyar at another mosque nearby. The two were to be buried in their family cemetery in the west of the city this afternoon.
“Seyar was a smart kid, and he would often ask: ‘Why is there a war going on, what are they fighting for?’ ” Khalilullah Amini, a member of the family, said.
“He went to pray, and this is what happened,” his distraught uncle, Asadullah Nazari, said. “He wanted to become an engineer in the future. His books, his pens, his bag is left at home.”