Suicide bomber kills at least 30 at mosque in Kabul

KABUL (AFP): A gunman opened fire on worshippers in a Shia mosque in Kabul before he detonated explosives on Friday, police said, in the latest attack to hit the Afghan capital.

“A suicide bomber entered the mosque in Police District 13 of Kabul city. The attacker opened fire on worshippers,” Kabul Crime Branch chief Gen Mohammad Salim Almas told AFP.

An Afghan official at the interior ministry said the suicide bombing killed at least 30 people and wounded 45. According to TOLO News, eyewitnesses said that women and children were among the victims of the mosque attack.

Maj Gen Alimast Momand said the attacker was on foot and walked into the mosque in the city’s Dashti Barch area. No group has claimed responsibility so far.

However, recent assaults on Shia mosques have been carried out by the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

The last attack on a Shia mosque in Kabul happened on September 29 as Muslims prepared to commemorate Ashura, one of the holiest days in the Islamic calendar.

Six people were killed when a suicide bomber posing as a shepherd blew him up near Hussainia mosque, one of the biggest Shia centres in the city, as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers.