KABUL: An explosion in the Afghan capital ripped through a mosque and killed at least 10 people on Friday, an Interior Ministry official said.
A wave of deadly attacks has shaken the country in the last two weeks of the fasting month of Ramadan, some claimed by the Daesh group, killing dozens of civilians.
“Many worshipers were in the Khalifa Sahib mosque when the blast went off,” a survivor who identified himself as Ahmad told AFP.
“Many victims were thrown to the ground.”
The bloodied victims were transported by ambulance to a hospital in central Kabul, but Taliban fighters prevented journalists from entering the facility.
“The explosion occurred two hours after Friday prayers while worshipers were performing rituals,” Interior Ministry deputy spokesman Bismillah Habib told AFP, adding that at least 15 people were injured.
Friday’s blast came hours after Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada praised the country’s security apparatus in a message ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
While he did not mention the recent wave of bombings, he said that Afghanistan had been able to build “a strong Islamic and national army” as well as “a strong intelligence organization”.
Several recent attacks have targeted the minority Shia community, but Friday’s blast was at a Sunni mosque.
It comes a day after two bombs in separate minibuses killed at least nine people in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, targeting Shiite passengers heading home to break their fast.
A bomb at a Shiite mosque in the city a week earlier killed at least 12 worshipers and injured dozens more.
Daesh has claimed responsibility for several of the recent attacks.
Daesh’s regional branch in Afghanistan has repeatedly targeted Shiites and minorities such as Sufis, who follow a mystical branch of Islam.