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Bomb kills 62 inside Afghanistan mosque
- The explosion took place in eastern Nangarhar province and wounded 33 people
- The blast came a day after the UN said violence in the country had reached ‘unacceptable’ levels
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At least 62 worshippers were killed and dozens wounded by a blast inside an Afghan mosque during Friday prayers, officials said, a day after the United Nations said violence in the country had reached “unacceptable” levels.
The explosion, which witnesses said collapsed the mosque’s roof, took place in eastern Nangarhar province and wounded at least 33 people, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.
He said the dead were “all worshippers” in the blast in Haska Mina district, roughly 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the provincial capital Jalalabad.
The Taliban have condemned the attack and blamed it on the Islamic State group.
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Witnesses said the roof of the mosque had fallen through after the “loud” explosion, the nature of which was not immediately clear.
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“Dozens of people were killed and wounded and were taken in several ambulances,” Haji Amanat Khan, a 65-year-old local resident, said.
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