KUNDUZ, (Afghanistan): A blast ripped through a mosque during Friday prayers in northern Afghanistan killing 33 people and wounding 43 more, a Taliban spokesman said, just a day after the Islamic State group claimed two separate deadly attacks.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that children were among the 33 dead in the blast at a mosque in the northern province of Kunduz.

“We condemn this crime... and express our deepest sympathies to the bereaved,” he said.

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Images posted to social media which could not be immediately verified showed holes blown through the walls of the Mawlavi Sikandar mosque, popular with Sufis, north of Kunduz city.

“The sight at the mosque was horrifying. All those who were worshipping inside the mosque were either injured or killed,” said Mohammad Esah, who owns a shop near the mosque.

A nurse at a nearby district hospital told AFP over the phone that between 30 to 40 casualties had been admitted from the blast.