Blast in Kabul mosque, IS bombs in north Afghanistan kill 14
11:04 JST, May 26, 2022
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A series of explosions shook Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Taliban said, including a blast inside a mosque in the capital of Kabul that killed at least five worshippers and three bombings of minivans in the country’s north that killed nine passengers.
The Islamic State group’s local affiliate claimed responsibility for the minivan bombings.
The Kabul Emergency Hospital said it received 22 victims of the mosque bombing, including five dead. There were no further details on the blast that struck the Hazrat Zakaria Mosque in the city’s central Police District 4, according to Khalid Zadran, a Taliban police spokesman in Kabul.
“The blast took place while people were inside the mosque for the evening prayers,” Zadran said, adding that they were waiting for an update.
The minivans were targeted in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif after explosive devices were placed inside the vehicles, according to Mohammad Asif Waziri, a Taliban-appointed spokesman in Balkh province. He said the explosions killed nine and wounded 15.
All the victims in Mazar-e-Sharif were from the country’s minority Shiite Muslims, according to a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to give details to the media.
The IS claim of responsibility was posted on the Sunni militant group’s Aamaq news agency. The statement said IS targeted three buses with improvised explosive devices.
There was no claim of responsibility for the Kabul mosque explosion but it also bore the hallmarks of the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group, known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or IS-K.
The IS affiliate, which has been operating in Afghanistan since 2014, is seen as the greatest security challenge facing the country’s new Taliban rulers. Following their takeover when they seized power in Kabul and elsewhere in the country last August, the Taliban have launched a sweeping crackdown against the IS headquarters in eastern Afghanistan.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Dollar Edges Lower, Yen at 34-year Trough
-
Japan Visitors Exceed 3 Mln in March, a Monthly Record, Tourism Agency Says
-
EU Ratchets up Pressure on TikTok’s New Rewards App over Risks to Kids, Warns of Suspension
-
Japan’s Nikkei Ends 1% Higher after Sharp Fall; Chip-Related Shares Weigh (Update 1)
-
Japan’s Yen Hits 155 Per Dollar, Weakest Since 1990
JN ACCESS RANKING
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- U.S. 7th Fleet officer Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Sushi, Sashimi, Chicken at Kanagawa Shopping Mall; Suspect Caught Mid-Meal
- UNRWA Director Describes Catastrophic Destruction in Gaza; Says Relief Trucks Robbed, ‘People’s Hearts Destroyed’
- JAL Airplane Experiences Radio Malfunction During Flight, Lands Safely By Relying on Light Signals