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People gather near the site of an explosion at a mosque in Herat province, Afghanistan, on Friday. Photo: AP

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
Afghanistan
An explosion tore through a crowded mosque in western Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 18 people, including a prominent cleric, Taliban officials and a local doctor said. At least 21 people were hurt.

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.

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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.

Haqqani was known for angry speeches against Islamic State, who later claimed responsibility for his death.

Ansari’s death was confirmed by the chief Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.

“The country’s strong and courageous religious scholar was martyred in a brutal attack,” he said on Twitter.

Ambulances transported 18 bodies and 21 wounded people from the blast to hospitals in Herat, said Mohammad Daud Mohammadi, an official at the Herat ambulance centre,

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s blast.

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Previous mosque attacks have been claimed by Isis, which has carried out a series of attacks against religious and ethnic minorities in Afghanistan, as well as Taliban targets.

The Herat mosque draws followers of Sunni Islam, the dominant stream in Afghanistan that is also followed by the Taliban.

In the year since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Isis attacked several mosques in suicide bombings during Friday prayers, with a focus on targeting Shiite Muslims. Isis followers are also Sunnis and consider Shiites to be infidels.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

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