Huge explosion rocks Kabul mosque

20 feared dead including top Islamic cleric named Amir Mohammad Kabuli, reports Asian Lite News

An explosion at a mosque in the north of the Afghan capital of Kabul killed 20 people and injured 40 more, media reports said.

The blast reportedly took place in a mosque in the Khair Khana area during evening prayers.

“As a result of an explosion in a mosque north of Kabul, 20 people were killed and another 40 were injured,” an Afghan security source told Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

The Taliban claim they have full control of Afghanistan but the Islamic State continues carrying out attacks on civilians and police across the country.

The Taliban has not issued any statement on casualties, according to the Afghan news agency. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.

Among the dead is a top Islamic cleric named Amir Mohammad Kabuli.

Two weeks ago, two deadly blasts in Kabul took the lives of 10 people, injuring 40 others. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both attacks.

This blast comes on the heels of one year of Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Rights groups said the Taliban have broken multiple pledges to respect human rights and women’s rights.

After capturing Kabul in August last year, the Islamic authorities have imposed severe restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights, suppressed the media, and arbitrarily detained, tortured, and summarily executed critics and perceived opponents, among other abuses.

The New York-based rights group in its report said Taliban human rights abuses have brought widespread condemnation and imperilled international efforts to address the country’s dire humanitarian situation.

Meanwhile, the Taliban on Wednesday condemned the explosion. The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a tweet that the perpetrators of “crimes” will soon be arrested and punished, Tolo News reported.

‘Situation tragedy for alliance’

The situation in Afghanistan a year after the Taliban came to power became a tragedy not only for the Afghan people but also for all NATO countries which tried to create a stable and democratic country, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

“What we have seen in the last year is actually a huge setback and the tragedy for Afghanistan, but also for all those Allies and partners who worked so hard to create a more peaceful and democratic Afghanistan,” Stoltenberg said during a press conference.

The Western countries managed to cope with terrorism in Afghanistan, but did not fulfill the much more ambitious task of building a free and democratic state, Stoltenberg added.

An interim Afghan government led by the Taliban came to power last fall after the withdrawal of US troops from the country and the collapse of the US-backed government.

The Taliban takeover triggered economic disarray and food shortages that have pushed the country to the brink of a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Afghans have fled the country fearful of the Taliban, widespread violation of human rights, and the deprivation of women and girls of their freedoms. (ANI/Sputnik)

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