Top Afghan cleric among 18 killed in Herat mosque blast
- The explosion at the Guzargah Mosque during Friday prayers killed Mujib-ul Rahman Ansari and injured 21 others
- He is the second pro-Taliban cleric to be killed in a blast in less than a month, after Rahimullah Haqqani died in an attack at his Kabul madrasa
The blast went off in the Guzargah Mosque in the western city of Herat during Friday noon prayers, the highlight of the Muslim religious week when places of worship are particularly crowded.
The explosion killed Mujib-ul Rahman Ansari, a prominent cleric who was known across Afghanistan for his criticism of the country’s Western-backed governments over the past two decades. Ansari was seen as close to the Taliban, who seized control over the country a year ago as foreign forces withdrew.
In July, during a religious gathering in Kabul, he called for those who commit “the smallest act against our Islamic government” to be beheaded.
“This [Taliban] flag has not been raised easily, and it will not be lowered easily,” he said.
Ansari is the second pro-Taliban cleric to be killed in a blast in less than a month, after Rahimullah Haqqani died in a suicide attack at his madrasa in Kabul.