62 killed in mosque bombing in eastern Afghanistan

A blast in a mosque in eastern Afghanistan killed 62 people Friday, according to Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for Nangahar’s provincial governor. Khogyani said the blast struck worshipers gathered for Friday prayers and left 36 wounded.

Afghan officials gave conflicting reports regarding the source of the blast. Khogyani said two bombs were planted inside the mosque and detonated almost simultaneously, but Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber and strongly condemned it in a tweet.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Seddiqi blamed “the Taliban and their partners.” But the Taliban condemned the attack calling it a “major crime” carried out by the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan or the Afghan government. 

The Islamic State had not issued a statement on the attack, but its fighters have been known to operate where the attack occurred, in the Haska Mena district of Nangahar.

A lawmaker from the area, Sayema Khogyani, said the roof of the mosque collapsed from the force of the blast and rescue crews were struggling to reach survivors beneath the rubble. A local tribal chief, Habib Urahman, said villagers in the area have dug 63 graves to bury those killed.

“It is a horrific incident, even an animal would not resort to such an act,” he said. 

The mosque attack comes as civilian casualties in Afghanistan have reached record-high levels, according to the United Nations. In a report released Thursday, the United Nations said attacks using explosives in civilian areas have killed 647 and wounded 2,796 since January.

The conflict in Afghanistan has killed 2,563 civilians and wounded 5,676 since January this year, according to the report. Most of the civilians killed this year died in Taliban attacks, according to the report. 

The Islamic State has significantly fewer fighters in Afghanistan than the Taliban, but it is considered the bigger terrorist threat. The Islamic State and the Taliban are rivals and in some parts of the country, the two groups clash.

Afghanistan’s 18-year war has intensified in recent months amid peace talks that recently collapsed and in the lead-up to the country’s presidential elections. (Washington Post)