A suicide assault at Kandahar’s largest Shia mosque has killed 32 people and injured at least 68 others. Government-owned Bakhtar News Agency confirmed initial reports of the attack on Friday.
This is the second week in a row that a Shia mosque has been attacked during Friday prayers. Sunni Islam is practiced by the vast majority of Afghans.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan officials said three explosions occurred inside Kandahar’s Imam Bargah mosque, which killed multiple people and injured dozens. The incident happened during Friday prayers.
Last week, another suicide attack killed at least 20 people and 90 others were wounded at a Shia mosque in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz.
The United Nations condemned the horrific attack on a religious institution. The perpetrators should be held accountable, the organization said. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid echoed the sentiment and vowed to bring the perpetrators and anyone they had worked with to justice.
Officials said so far no group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack. ISIS-K had claimed responsibility for last week’s attack in Kunduz. The group also claims responsibility for the attack just a few days before on a mosque in central Kabul.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan two months ago, the terror group has conducted a number of strikes. Others include a suicide explosion at Kabul’s airport in August and a series of blasts in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad that targeted Taliban militants.