An explosion outside a mosque in the capital of Afghanistan killed “a number of civilians” on Sunday, a senior Taliban official said.
The bomb targeted the sprawling Eidgah Mosque in Kabul, where a memorial service was being held for the mother of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who later tweeted the attack had claimed civilian lives, a report by FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP says.
Emergency NGO, an Italian-funded hospital in Kabul, tweeted it had received four people wounded in the blast.
Sunday’s bombing was the second major attack in the Afghan capital since the Taliban takeover. An August 26 attack on the Kabul airport, which killed 182 people, was claimed by the IS-K, the Islamic State group’s Khorasan branch.
No one has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bomb attack.
The bombing at an iconic Kabul mosque raised questions over whether the Taliban can maintain security amid rising threats from the IS-K group.
Under the terms of the US withdrawal deal, the Taliban promised to maintain security in Afghanistan and ensure the country did not turn into a haven for jihadist groups.
The area around the Eid Gah mosque was immediately cordoned off. Ambulances carrying the wounded were seen rushing towards Kabul’s Emergency Hospital in the Shahr-e Naw area.
Ahmadullah, a shopkeeper who was near the mosque at the time of the attack, told AFP he heard “the sound of an explosion near the Eid Gah Mosque followed by gun firing”.
“Just ahead of the blast the Taliban had blocked the road to hold a prayer ceremony for Zabihullah Mujahid’s mother in Eid Gah Mosque.”
AFP journalists in two locations in the capital also heard the blast and shooting.
