Flash News

Police officer in Kukës is raped, he is cut off under his house and beaten with hard objects

100 days or 16 years?

Saranda/ Election materials arrive for May 11 under police and military supervision

Student falls from second floor of school in Gjirokastra

From the maritime agreement with Greece to the Rama-Soros connection, Berisha speaks about the Greek media

Bota

Ceasefire ends for Eid, ISIS takes over mosque attack with 12 killed in Afghanistan

Politiko 2021-05-16 10:55:31

Ceasefire ends for Eid, ISIS takes over mosque attack with 12 killed in

A blast inside a mosque on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul has killed at least 12 people during Friday prayers as worshipers gathered for Eid al-Adha during a ceasefire. The Taliban insurgent group, which announced a three-day ceasefire for the holiday, condemned the attack in a statement.

The extremist Islamic group so-called Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack through its Telegraph news agency Nasheer. ISIS fighters said they had planted an explosive device inside the mosque on the outskirts of Kabul, which they activated when worshipers arrived for Friday prayers.

Ferdous Faramarz, Kabul police spokesman, said the imam of the mosque was among 12 dead and at least 15 people were injured in the blast in the capital Shakar Dara district.

The blast came less than a week after an explosion at a school killed 80 people, most of them girls from the Hazara Muslim ethnic minority. The Taliban also denounced that attack and no one claimed responsibility.

U.S. officials believe the attack on the school may have been carried out by a rival group, such as Islamic State. Such groups have not signed the holiday ceasefire.

Violence, including attacks on civilians, has escalated in Afghanistan even as the United States launched an operation to withdraw all its remaining troops over the next four months.

So far there have been no major reports of direct fighting between government forces and the Taliban during the ceasefire, which began on Thursday at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. However, street bombings continued with at least 11 civilians reported killed and 13 wounded in four bombs on Thursday.

The government and the Taliban have held political talks in a bid to end their conflict as Washington withdraws its troops. Both sides in the talks have accused the other of provocation and failure to stop attacks on civilians.

"Today's attack on a mosque in Kabul's Shakar Dara district during Friday prayers is completely contrary to the idea of ​​Eid al-Fitr as a family holiday celebrated in peace," the European Union mission in Afghanistan said on Twitter.

Source: Reuters

Latest news