Suicide bombing at Afghanistan’s Kunduz mosque kills at least 55 worshippers
- Scores from the minority community were wounded in the attack at a Shia mosque during Friday prayers
- Images shared on social media showed several bloodied bodies lying on the floor and plumes of smoke rising into the air over Kunduz
An suicide bomb attack on worshippers at a Shia mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz killed at least 55 people Friday, in the bloodiest assault since US forces left the country.
Matiullah Rohani, director of culture and information in Kunduz for Afghanistan’s new Taliban government, said that the deadly incident was a suicide attack.
A medical source at the Kunduz Provincial Hospital said that 35 dead and more than 50 wounded had been taken there, while Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital said 20 were dead and scores more wounded.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had earlier said an unknown number of people had been killed and injured when “an explosion took place in a mosque of our Shiite compatriots” in Kunduz.
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Suicide bombing at Afghan mosque kills at least 46 people: state news agency
The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan (Isis-K) group. In a statement released on its Telegram channels, the jihadist group said that a suicide bomber “detonated an explosive vest amid a crowd” of Shiite worshippers who had gathered inside the mosque.