Huge blast in Mosque kills 21, injures dozens in Afghanistan

Asia-Pacific, News August 18, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

At least 21 people have been killed and 33 injured after a huge blast at a mosque in Afghanistan’s capital city on August 17.

According to Kabul Police Chief Khalid Zardan, the explosion occurred during the evening prayers at a crowded mosque in the country’s capital city of Kabul. Witnesses described that the powerful explosion shattered windows of the nearby buildings. The Imam of the mosque was also killed as he was leading the evening prayers at the time of the blast. The police is yet to determine the nature of the explosion and the explosive material used in the blast.

Taliban Spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed that there have been several casualties, however, no official numbers have been released by the Taliban government so far. “The murderers of civilians and perpetrators, will soon be punished for their crimes.” Zabiullah wrote on his Twitter account.

The motives behind the huge blast are still undetermined as no organization or individual has come forwards to accept the responsibility for the incident, however, it is being assessed by intelligence officials that the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) is behind the explosion.

IS has emerged as the largest rival and potent enemy of the Taliban, who seized control of Afghanistan right after the U.S. withdrawal in 2021. For a long time, ISIS had been targeting the minority Shia Hazara community in Afghanistan. Their focus now seems to be shifting towards the Taliban. The two groups have engaged in bloody battles on several occasions during the last year. Earlier this week the ISIS militant killed a pro-Taliban cleric in Kabul through a suicide attack.

*^{A Taliban fighter standing guard outside the site of a bomb explosion inside a mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif province of Afghanistan, on April 21, 2022. (Image Credit: AP)}*

A number of bombings in Afghanistan have taken place since the Taliban took control in August 2021, and Islamic State has claimed the responsibility for most of such attacks. Earlier in April this year, a similar deadly attack on a mosque in the northern Afghan city of Mizar-i-Sharif left 16 people dead and several injured. The IS claimed responsibility for the attack which targeted Afghanistan’s Shia Hazara Community. The bomb hit the mosque as worshipers were praying during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Taliban forces have been making frequent raids to capture the Islamic State members and leaders who are spread throughout the country. Taliban officials insist that they have managed to defeat the Islamic State, however, the group still remains one of the key challenges that the Taliban administration is currently facing.