A massive explosion struck a mosque in northern Kabul in Afghanistan on Wednesday, 17 August, during evening prayers, killing at least 21people and injuring several others.
A Taliban police spokesperson in Kabul has said that the toll from the mosque bombing has risen to 21 people killed and 33 wounded, AP reported.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter, “The murderers of civilians and perpetrators … will soon be punished for their crimes.”
Kabul’s Emergency Hospital had earlier tweeted that they received 27 wounded patients, including a seven-year-old child.
The Imam of the mosque, Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli, was among those killed, Reuters reported.
Intelligence teams had rushed at the blast site and investigations were underway on Wednesday night.
A Spate of Killings in Kabul
Eyewitness accounts reportedly indicated that the blast targeted the Siddiquiya Mosque in Kabul's Khair Khanna neighbourhood, and shattered windows of nearby buildings.
The capital city has seen a spate of attacks in the last few months, with militant group Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), claiming responsibility for most of them.
In June, a group of unidentified gunmen from the Islamic State affiliate had opened fire inside Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul, killing two people.
15 August had marked one year since the Taliban advanced into Kabul and established a new regime as United State forces withdrew from the country, alongside the Ashraf Ghani government.
(With inputs from Reuters, AP, and Al Jazeera.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)