At least 21 people have been killed and 33 injured in a major bomb attack at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan. Nine of the injured were under the age of 18 and a seven-year-old child.
Al-Jazeera, a Qatar-based media outlet, reported this information citing Afghan police officials.
The explosion happened last Wednesday (17 August) during evening prayers. Eyewitnesses said the explosion shook the windows of nearby buildings.
Local media quoted Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran as saying that the imam of the mosque was among the dead.
No one has yet been held responsible for the mosque bombing. And no one was blamed by the Taliban government.
However, the Taliban spokesman wrote in a tweet that those involved in the killing of civilians will soon be punished for this heinous crime.
The injured have been admitted to an Italian NGO-run hospital in Kabul. Currently there are no more seats in the hospital. As a result, normal treatment is hindered.
The blast came a week after the killing of a prominent pro-Taliban religious leader.
Religious leader Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani was killed in a suicide bombing a few weeks ago. The so-called Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack.
The members of the security forces reached the mosque area immediately after the explosion in the mosque on Wednesday.
(18 August)