Afghan mosque blast kills at least 25, challenges Taliban

By SAMYA KULLAB and TAMEEM AKHGAR

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A blast went disconnected Friday astatine a mosque packed with Shiite Muslim worshippers successful bluish Afghanistan, sidesplitting astatine slightest 25 and wounding dozens successful the latest information situation to the Taliban arsenic they modulation from insurgency to governance.

The detonation tore done a mosque successful the metropolis of Kunduz during noon prayers, the item of the Muslim spiritual week. It blew retired windows, charred the ceiling and scattered debris and twisted metallic crossed the floor. Rescuers carried 1 assemblage retired connected a stretcher and different successful a blanket. Blood stains covered the beforehand steps.

Area nonmigratory Hussaindad Rezayee said helium rushed to the mosque erstwhile helium heard the explosion, conscionable arsenic prayers started. “I came to look for my relatives, the mosque was full,” helium said.

There was nary contiguous assertion of work for what Kunduz constabulary said whitethorn person been a termination attack. But militants from a section Islamic State affiliate person a agelong past of attacking Afghanistan’s taste and spiritual minorities.

The worshippers targeted Friday were Hazaras, who person agelong suffered from treble favoritism arsenic an taste number and arsenic followers of Shiite Islam successful a bulk Sunni country.

The Islamic State radical has been down a emergence successful attacks, including against the Taliban, since the departure of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan astatine the extremity of August. IS and the Taliban, who seized power of the state with the exit of the overseas troops, are strategical rivals. IS militants person targeted Taliban positions and attempted to enlistee members from their ranks.

In the past, the Taliban managed to incorporate the IS menace successful tandem with U.S. and Afghan airstrikes. Without these, it remains unclear whether the Taliban tin suppress what appears to beryllium a increasing IS footprint. The militants, erstwhile confined to the east, person penetrated the superior of Kabul and different provinces with caller attacks.

This comes astatine a captious moment, arsenic the Taliban effort to consolidate powerfulness and alteration their guerrilla fighters into a structured constabulary and information force. But portion the radical attempts to task an aerial of authorization done reports of raids and arrests of IS members, it remains unclear if it has the capableness to support brushed targets, including spiritual institutions.

In Kunduz, constabulary officials were inactive picking up the pieces Friday astatine the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque.

Citing preliminary reports, the lawman Taliban constabulary main of Kunduz province, Dost Mohammad Obaida, said much than 100 radical had been killed oregon wounded, and that helium believed the dormant outnumbered the wounded. Hours aft his archetypal statement, constabulary had inactive not provided an update.

An authoritative astatine the Kunduz provincial infirmary said astatine slightest 25 radical were killed and 51 wounded successful the attack. He said the figures were preliminary due to the fact that casualties were being transferred to backstage hospitals arsenic well. He spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium was not allowed to talk to the media.

Even the preliminary decease toll of 25 is already the highest successful an onslaught since overseas troops near Afghanistan.

The United Nations ngo successful Afghanistan condemned the onslaught arsenic “part of a disturbing signifier of violence” targeting spiritual institutions.

Obaida, the lawman constabulary chief, pledged to support minorities successful the province. “I guarantee our Shiite brothers that the Taliban are prepared to guarantee their safety,” helium said.

A salient Shiite cleric, Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi, condemned the onslaught and called connected the Taliban to supply information for the Shiites of Afghanistan. “We expect the information forces of the authorities to supply information for the mosques since they collected the weapons that were provided for the information of the worship places,” helium said.

The caller code struck by the Taliban, astatine slightest successful Kunduz, is successful crisp opposition to the well-documented past of Taliban fighters committing a litany of atrocities against minorities, including Hazaras. The Taliban, present feeling the value of governing, employed akin tactics to those of IS during their 20-year insurgency, including termination bombings and shooting ambushes.

And they person not halted attacks connected Hazaras.

Earlier this week, a study by Amnesty International recovered the Taliban unlawfully killed 13 Hazaras, including a 17-year-old girl, successful Daykundi province, aft members of the information forces of the erstwhile authorities surrendered.

In Kunduz province, Hazaras marque up astir 6% of the province’s colonisation of astir 1 cardinal people. The state besides has a ample taste Uzbek colonisation that has been targeted for recruitment by the IS, which is intimately aligned with the militant Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Friday’s onslaught was the 3rd to people a spot of worship oregon spiritual survey successful a week.

IS has besides claimed 2 deadly bombings successful Kabul, including the horrific Aug. 26 bombing that killed astatine slightest 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. subject unit extracurricular of Kabul airdrome successful the last days of the chaotic American pullout from Afghanistan.

IS besides claimed a bombing connected Sunday extracurricular Kabul’s Eid Gah Mosque that killed astatine slightest 5 civilians. Another onslaught connected a madrassa, a spiritual school, successful Khost state connected Wednesday was not claimed.

If Friday’s onslaught is claimed by IS, it volition besides beryllium worrying for Afghanistan’s bluish Central Asian neighbors and Russia, which has been courting the Taliban for years arsenic an state against the creeping IS successful the region.

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Akhgar reported from Istanbul. Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon successful Islamabad contributed to this report.