An explosion inside a mosque in north-east Afghanistan has killed 15 people and injured 50. As per Reports, several local Taliban officials were among those killed or wounded. The blast occurred during a prayer service for the deputy governor of Badakhshan province, who was killed by a car bomb earlier this week. The Islamic State militant group said it carried out the car bomb attack.
Mourners were attending the funeral of Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, the acting Taliban provincial governor of Badakhshan, who was killed on his way to work on Tuesday. One other person was killed and six wounded in that attack.
Two sources confirmed that two local Taliban officials were killed at the mosque. They include the former police commander of northern Baghlan province, Safiullah Samim, according to a statement offering condolences from another police chief.
Abdul Nafay Takor, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, mentioned that initial reports indicate at least 11 people were killed and over 30 others were injured in the blast. Afghan politicians strongly criticized the attack.
Former Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, condemned the attack on the Nabawi mosque in the Hesa-e Awal area of Faizabad, the center of Badakhshan province, in a tweet. Karzai called the act “terrorism” and “against human and Islamic standards,” expressing sympathy for the affected families.
Abdullah Abdullah, former HCNR chairman, reacted to the explosion by stating in a tweet that “attacking mosques and religious places goes against Islamic rules and human principles, and there is no justification.”
