Blast hits a mosque in Kabul, casualties feared

A blast occurred in Sher Shah Suri Mosque in the Kart-e-Char area of Kabul city on Friday.

The blast occurred at today’s noon while people were at Friday’s prayers, the Interior Ministry confirmed.

According to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Imam of the mosque Azizullah Mofleh and three prayers were killed and eight others wounded in the incident.

Witnesses to the incident say that IEDs were planted in the pulpit of the mosque and exploded as the prayers started.

“I was on my way to the mosque when I heard an explosion and as I arrived in the mosque, my father had been martyred,” said the deceased imam’s son.

Mofleh, the imam, lived with his family on the premises of the mosque.

The mosque has two entrances that are always inspected by security forces and no one can enter without inspection.

It should be noted that Azizullah Mofleh was one of the well-known scholars of Afghanistan. He always condemned suicide attacks. He supported the government.

Meanwhile, NATO SCR Stefano Pontecorvo in a tweet condemned the attack on Sher Shah Suri mosque, noting that the perpetrators must be brought to justice. He added, “As we face a historical opportunity for peace, spoilers can’t be allowed to disrupt it. We stand with Afghanistan in the fight against terror.”

This comes as, in another explosion that occurred in Wazir Akbar Khan Mosque, Kabul, on June 3, Dr. Ayaz Niazi, imam of the mosque, and one other person were killed, and three were wounded.

Denying its involvement in the attack, the Taliban issued a statement condemning the blast at the mosque and calling it a crime.

No group or individual immediately has claimed responsibility for the explosion.