AGL 40.00 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
AIRLINK 129.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-0.41%)
BOP 6.76 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.2%)
CNERGY 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-2.81%)
DCL 8.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-2.68%)
DFML 41.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.69 (-1.66%)
DGKC 81.30 Decreased By ▼ -2.47 (-2.95%)
FCCL 32.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.27%)
FFBL 74.25 Decreased By ▼ -1.22 (-1.62%)
FFL 11.75 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (2.44%)
HUBC 110.03 Decreased By ▼ -0.52 (-0.47%)
HUMNL 13.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.76 (-5.22%)
KEL 5.29 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.86%)
KOSM 7.63 Decreased By ▼ -0.77 (-9.17%)
MLCF 38.35 Decreased By ▼ -1.44 (-3.62%)
NBP 63.70 Increased By ▲ 3.41 (5.66%)
OGDC 194.88 Decreased By ▼ -4.78 (-2.39%)
PAEL 25.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-3.38%)
PIBTL 7.37 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-3.79%)
PPL 155.74 Decreased By ▼ -2.18 (-1.38%)
PRL 25.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.03 (-3.85%)
PTC 17.56 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-4.88%)
SEARL 78.71 Decreased By ▼ -3.73 (-4.52%)
TELE 7.88 Decreased By ▼ -0.43 (-5.17%)
TOMCL 33.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.90 (-2.61%)
TPLP 8.41 Decreased By ▼ -0.65 (-7.17%)
TREET 16.26 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-6.93%)
TRG 58.60 Decreased By ▼ -2.72 (-4.44%)
UNITY 27.51 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.29%)
WTL 1.41 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (2.17%)
BR100 10,450 Increased By 43.4 (0.42%)
BR30 31,209 Decreased By -504.2 (-1.59%)
KSE100 97,798 Increased By 469.8 (0.48%)
KSE30 30,481 Increased By 288.3 (0.95%)

KABUL: A blast which ripped through a mosque packed with worshippers in the Afghan capital Kabul killed at least 21 people and wounded more than two dozen others, police said Thursday.

The number of bombings across Afghanistan has dropped since the Taliban returned to power, but several attacks – many targeting minority communities – have rocked the country in recent months, including several claimed by the Islamic State group.

No group has yet claimed Wednesday evening’s blast.

“The blast was caused by explosives placed inside the mosque,” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran told AFP Thursday.

He said 21 people were killed and 33 wounded.

The Italian non-governmental organisation Emergency, which operates a hospital in Kabul, said on Wednesday evening it had received 27 victims from the blast, including three fatalities.

Most of the patients were “suffering from shell and burn injuries”, it said via email.

In a later tweet, the hospital said five children were among those it treated, including a seven-year-old.

Wednesday’s blast comes nearly a week after a suicide attack killed top Taliban cleric Rahimullah Haqqani, who was killed along with his brother at his madrassa in Kabul.

Haqqani was known for angry speeches against IS, which later claimed the attack.

Eight killed in Kabul blast

The group has primarily targeted minority communities such as Shia, Sufis and Sikhs.

The Taliban say they have defeated IS, but experts claim the group remains a key security challenge for the militant.

While IS is a militant group like the Taliban, the two are bitter rivals and greatly diverge on ideological grounds.

The blast came as senior Taliban leaders on Thursday led a major gathering of more than 2,000 religious clerics and elders in the southern city of Kandahar, the movement’s de factor power base.

In a statement sent to the media, a Taliban spokesman said “important decisions will be taken in the conference”.

Comments

Comments are closed.