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Afghanistan Bombing Kills At Least 55 Worshippers Inside Afghan Mosque In Deadliest Attack Since US Withdrawal
At least 55 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on worshipers at a Shia mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz on Friday, the worst strike since US troops departed the country.
Hundreds of more people from the minority group were injured in the blast, which has yet to be claimed but looks to be intended at further destabilizing Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover.
The fatal event was a suicide attack, said Matiullah Rohani, director of culture and information for Afghanistan's new Taliban administration in Kunduz, SCMP reported.
According to a medical source at the Kunduz Provincial Hospital, 35 people were killed and more than 50 were injured while at the Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital, 20 people were killed and dozens more were injured.
Blast disturbs worshippers during prayer service at a mosque
The explosion occurred during the mosque's Friday prayer service when Shiite religious sect members are expected to attend in huge numbers.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, as per the Associated Press. Since US and NATO soldiers departed Afghanistan at the end of August under the Taliban's takeover, the strike is expected to result in the most deaths.
The blast injured or killed a "huge number" of worshipers, according to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. Taliban special forces will be investigating, he said.
Now that they control the government, the Taliban must contend with threats from ISIS-K, the local Islamic State affiliate.
Taliban troops stormed an ISIS-K hideaway in Kabul, Afghanistan, earlier this week, killing many ISIS-K terrorists after a previous explosion outside the Eid Gah mosque, killed five people.
Matiullah Rohani, Afghanistan's new Taliban government's head of culture and information in Kunduz, admitted to AFP that the horrific event was a suicide bombing.
Mulawi Dost Muhammad, the Taliban's security head in Kunduz, accused the attackers of attempting to stir up sectarian strife between Shiites and Sunnis, insisting that the movement and the minority were not at strife.
The bomb went off during Friday prayers, which are the most important of the week for Muslims, according to residents in Kunduz, the capital of the same-named province.
According to one witness, Rahmatullah, there were 300 to 400 worshipers inside. Several bleeding victims were on the floor, seen in graphic pictures that were shared on social media which remain unverified. Smoke plumes could be seen rising into the air over Kunduz in photographs.
The bombing happened near her house and several of her neighbors were killed, said a female teacher in Kunduz. She described the experience as "terrifying."
UN expresses "deep concern" over Afghanistan bombing
Per News.com.au, the United Nations in Afghanistan expressed "deep concern" over reports of "very high deaths" in Friday's attack, which it described as "part of a disturbing pattern of violence."
In October 2017, an IS suicide bomber targeted a Shiite mosque in the west of Kabul as worshipers gathered for evening prayers, killing 56 people and injuring 55 more, including women and children.
A series of blasts outside a school in the capital killed at least 85 people, the most of whom were young girls, in May of this year. Almost 300 individuals were injured in this attack on the Hazara minority.
The Taliban will struggle to maintain their authority until they address terrorism and the economic crisis, according to Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Related Article: UN Calls For Global Support as International Body Appoints Investigation To Determine Afghanistan's Need of Immediate Humanitarian Aid
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