Blast kills more than 50 at Kabul mosque, its leader says - REUTERS
According to the mosque’s head, a huge explosion killed more than 50 people following Friday prayers, the latest in a string of strikes on civilian targets in Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The incident occurred in the early afternoon at the Khalifa Sahib Mosque in the capital’s west, according to Besmullah Habib, deputy spokesperson for the interior ministry, who stated that the official verified dead toll was ten.
The incident occurred as attendees at the Sunni mosque gathered after Friday prayers for an act of religious memory known as Zikr, which is practiced by some Muslims but considered heretical by other hardline Sunni organizations.
According to a health official, hospitals have received 66 dead corpses and 78 injured persons thus far.
The United States and the United Nations mission in Afghanistan also denounced the attack, with the latter claiming it was part of an increase in violence against minorities in recent weeks and that at least two U.N. staff members and their families were in the mosque at the time of the incident.