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World / Asia

More than 100 killed and wounded in mosque blast in northeastern Afghanistan - UN

Published: 08 Oct 2021 - 05:04 pm | Last Updated: 01 Nov 2021 - 04:15 am
A view from a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan October 7, 2021. Picture taken October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A view from a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan October 7, 2021. Picture taken October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Reuters

KABUL: A suicide bomb tore through a mosque in Afghanistan's northeastern Kunduz province on Friday, killing or wounding more than 100 people, a UN agency said.

Video footage showed bodies surrounded by debris inside the mosque.

"Initial information indicates more than 100 people killed and injured in a suicide blast inside the mosque," the United Nations' mission to Afghanistan said in a tweet.

No group immediately claimed responsibility. The blast followed several attacks, including one at a mosque in Kabul, in recent weeks.

One Taliban official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least 28 people had been killed and dozens more wounded in Friday's blast.

The attacks have underscored security challenges for the Taliban, which took over the country in August and have since carried out operations against Islamic State cells in Kabul.

"This afternoon, an explosion took place in a mosque of our Shiite compatriots ... as a result of which a number of our compatriots were martyred and wounded," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter.