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Kabul Mosque Attack: 14 Martyred as Gunmen Storm Afghan Worshipers

Kabul Mosque Attack: 14 Martyred as Gunmen Storm Afghan Worshipers
folder_openAfghanistan access_time6 years ago
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Local Editor

A bomber has set off his explosives at a Shia mosque in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and other assailants have stormed the building, martyring at least 14 people.

Kabul Mosque Attack: 14 Martyred as Gunmen Storm Afghan Worshipers

The incident occurred at a time when many Shia worshipers had gathered at Imam Zaman Mosque in Qala-Najara for Friday prayers.

An official at Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said there were at least 14 civilian fatalities, while at least eight policemen had been wounded.

The ministry confirmed that the incident was a "terrorist attack," with deputy spokesman Najib Danish saying that the bomber had detonated himself while two or three other militants had entered the mosque and were exchanging fire with policemen.

Witnesses said that gunmen threw grenades and then entered the mosque.

"The bombers are running short of bullet rounds and they are using knives to stab worshippers," an eyewitness told AFP.

Meanwhile, Mir Hussain Nasiri, a member of Afghanistan's Shia clerical council, said the cleric who was performing the prayers was martyred.

The gunmen have taken over the portion of the mosque with the separate prayer areas for men and women, he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] terrorist group had attacked Shia Muslim targets in Afghanistan in the past.

Last month, 32 people were martured when Daesh militants stormed a Shia mosque in western province of Herat.

Afghanistan has been torn by decades of Taliban-led militancy and the 2001 invasion of the US and its allies. Daesh has also emerged there more recently.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump unveiled his administration's new strategy in Afghanistan, saying he would prolong the military intervention in the Asian country and rejected what he called "arbitrary timetables" for the withdrawal of US troops.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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