The attacks follow each other in Afghanistan. At least 33 people were killed in the explosion during prayers at a mosque in the north of the country on Friday, April 22, a Taliban government spokesman said.
“The explosion took place at a mosque in Emam Saheb, near Kunduz, killing thirty-three civilians, including children.”said government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Twitter.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 after overthrowing US-backed authorities there, the number of bombings has declined, but jihadists and the Islamic State Organization (IS) have continued their attacks on targets they consider heretical. .
“The show at the mosque was terrible”
“We condemn this crime” † and extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved.”said Zabihullah Mujahid again. Images posted on social networks, which could not be immediately verified, showed the walls perforated by the impacts of the Mawlavi Sikandar mosque, frequented by Sufis.
Jihadist groups such as IS have a deep hatred for this Muslim movement, which they regard as heretical and which they accuse of polytheism – the greatest sin in Islam – for asking the intercession of dead saints.
“The show at the mosque was terrible. Everyone praying inside was injured or killed.”said Mohammad Esah, the owner of a nearby store. “The shrapnel we found in the bodies of the wounded indicate that it was indeed the explosion of a bomb”a doctor from the provincial hospital reported to AFP.
A member of the medical staff at a nearby hospital told Agence France-Presse (AFP), on the phone, that between 30 and 40 people had been admitted to the establishment after the attack. “People gathered to pray at the mosque and the explosion took place”a witness on the phone told AFP.
Serial Bombings
The explosion comes the day after two IS-claimed attacks in Afghanistan that left at least 16 dead and dozens injured. Twelve believers died and 58 were injured in an attack Thursday on a Shia mosque in the north city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
On the same day, at least four people were killed and 18 injured in Kunduz when a bomb on a bicycle exploded as a vehicle carrying civilian mechanics from a Taliban military unit drove by. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the two explosions that took place on Tuesday at a boys’ school in a Shia district of Kabul, killing six and injuring more than 25.
Shia Afghans, mainly from the Hazara community, which make up between 10 and 20% of Afghanistan’s 38 million inhabitants, have long been targeted by IS, which also considers them heretics.
Earlier on Friday, Taliban authorities said they were… “brain” of Thursday’s bombing of the Mazar-e-Sharif mosque. Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated the IS group, but analysts believe the jihadist organization still poses a major threat to Afghanistan’s security.
