At least 45 others were wounded in the attack at the Baqir-ul Ulom mosque in western Kabul, the public health ministry said
28 people have been killed after a suicide bomber struck inside a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, officials said.
At least 45 others were wounded in the attack at the Baqir-ul Ulom mosque in western Kabul, the public health ministry said.
The attacker was on foot and detonated his suicide vest among the crowds inside the mosque, said Faredoon Obiadi, head of the criminal investigation department for Kabul police.
The attack took place on the first floor of the two-storey building where Shiite worshippers had gathered to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson and a Shiite martyr, in Karbala, Iraq, in 680 AD.
“I was inside the mosque and the Mullah was reading the prayer, suddenly a huge explosion happened then everywhere was dark,” said Ewaz Ali, 50, who suffered minor injuries.
No group has yet claimed responsibility but militant Sunni fundamentalists such as the Taliban and Islamic State view Shiites as apostates and frequently attack Shiite mosques and public gatherings.
Monday’s bombing struck a ceremony commemorating 40 days since the anniversary of Hussein’s death.
In early October, at a gathering commemorating the actual death anniversary, militants attacked another Shiite shrine in Kabul, killing 14.
Shiites in Afghanistan make up an estimated 15% of the population of around 30 million.
Their public celebrations and commemorations were largely banned during the five years when the Taliban controlled the country.
But Afghanistan’s Shiites have become more public since the extremists were overthrown in the US invasion of 2001.
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