Blast Tears Through Kabul Mosque, Killing at Least 5

Blast Tears Through Kabul Mosque, Killing at Least 5
A Taliban extremist stands guard at the venue for a flag hoisting ceremony of the Taliban flag on the Wazir Akbar Khan hill in Kabul, on March 31, 2022. Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP via Getty Images
Reuters
Updated:

KABUL—A blast tore through a mosque in Afghanistan’s capital on Wednesday evening, killing at least five people, authorities and hospitals said, the same day deadly explosions hit passenger vehicles in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

A spokesman for the capital’s commander said at least two people were injured in the blast on a mosque in Kabul. Emergency Hospital said in a tweet that it had received five bodies from the blast and more than a dozen wounded patients.

Three blasts in northern Balkh province killed at least nine and injured 15, Mohammad Asif Wazeri, a spokesman for Balkh Province’s commander told Reuters, adding the attacks targeted members of Shi'ia community, who are a religious minority in Afghanistan.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks.

Growing violence in recent months has caused security challenges for the Taliban who took over the country in August as foreign forces withdrew. The ISIS terrorist group has claimed several attacks, often targeting the Shi'ia minority.