A suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunduz province killing scores of worshippers. This is the third attack in a week targeting on religious institutions.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through the group’s propaganda media channels. The state-run Bakhtar news agency noted that the attack had killed 46 people and wounded 143, however, death toll was expected to rise according to health officials.
A video footage showed bodies surrounded by debris inside the mosque that is used by the minority Shi’ite Muslim community.
According to UN mission in Afghanistan, the suicide attack is part of disturbing pattern of violence claimed by the Islamist militants associated with the Islamic State. A series of such raids have been witnessed in recent days at a mosque in Kabul and a religious school in the eastern province of Khost.
There have been similar attacks in recent weeks, some of which have also been claimed by Islamic State, whose fighters are Sunni Muslims.
The kind of attacks underscore security challenges facing the Taliban, which took over the country and subsequently formed a government in August and have since attempted to carryout operations against Islamic State cells in Kabul.
