A high-intensity bomb blast has occurred at a mosque in Traili town in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan on Friday afternoon. The explosion occurred in front of a mosque in the Spin Ghar district at around 1.30 pm, during the Friday Namaz. Though the exact numbers are not yet known, it is being anticipated that the explosion has left at least three people dead and more than 35 were wounded, including the imam of the mosque.
Spin Ghar district of the eastern province of Afghanistan has been a hotbed of ISIS activity since the Taliban seized power in the country in August. Footage of the blast was shared on social media in the aftermath.
A video circulating on social media purportedly showed smoke rising above the neighbourhood.
TOLO News journalist shared visuals where the injured were seen being taken to the hospital.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) has quoted a Taliban official as saying: “I can confirm a blast during Friday prayers inside a mosque in Spin Ghar district. There are casualties and fatalities.”
The international newspaper further quoted a local activist named Walli Mohammed as confirming that the bomb was hidden in a loudspeaker near the imam’s rostrum. When the speaker was switched on to sound the Azaan, the device detonated, he added.
While no one has claimed responsibility for the incident, it is the latest in a series of such blasts that have targeted Mosques in the war-torn country. In the recent past, the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of ISIL militant group, has claimed responsibility for a number of terror attacks in Afghanistan.
On October 9, hours after a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque in Kunduz, where 300 Muslims were offering their Friday prayers (Jumma Namaz), the Sunni terror outfit Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) had claimed responsibility for the dastardly attack.
ISKP and the targetting of Shia Muslims in Afghanistan
The recent rise of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan has accentuated the fear of the Hazara community who had earlier been targeted by ISKP. Islamic State of Khorasan Province follows the extremist Sunni ideology and has been involved in several terror activities, including the bombing at the Kabul airport on August 26 that claimed the lives of 13 US soldiers. ISKP is an offshoot of the Islamic State terror group (ISIS) that operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.