08/18/2022 09:50 (act 08/18/2022 09:50)
In the massive explosion at a Kabul mosque on Wednesday night (local time), the death toll rose from three to 21 people, according to Afghan reports. 33 other people were injured in the blast during evening prayers, police said on Thursday. Eyewitnesses reported that a loud explosion was heard in the north of the Afghan capital. Windows in surrounding buildings were smashed.
No specific information was initially given about the cause. However, a spokesperson for the ruling Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan tweeted: “Civilian killers” will “soon be punished for their crimes”. The mosque’s imam is said to be among the dead. Most of the wounded suffered grenade and burn injuries, according to Italian NGO Emergency, which runs a hospital in Kabul.
On Thursday of last week, Taliban cleric Rahimullah Haqqani was killed in a suicide attack in Kabul. The opposing jihadist militia “Islamic State” (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Violence in the country has declined significantly since the Taliban took power a year ago. However, IS continued to carry out attacks regularly, mainly targeting religious minorities such as Shias, Sufis and Sikhs. The Taliban claims to have defeated IS. Experts, on the other hand, see the jihadist militia as one of the central challenges for the Taliban.
The Taliban has been back in command of the country for a year after the chaotic withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan. One of the reasons for the collapse of the Afghan government at the time was corruption among the political elite and in the Afghan army.