ISLAMABAD — A sequence of explosions shook Afghanistan on (*14*), the Taliban mentioned, together with a blast inside a mosque in the capital, Kabul, that killed not less than 5 worshippers and three bombings of minivans in the nation’s north that killed 9 passengers.
The Islamic State group’s native affiliate claimed duty for the minivan bombings.
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The Kabul Emergency Hospital mentioned it acquired 22 victims of the mosque bombing, together with 5 useless. There had been no additional particulars on the blast that struck the Hazrat Zakaria Mosque in town’s central Police District 4, in keeping with Khalid Zadran, a Taliban police spokesman in Kabul.
“The blast took place while people were inside the mosque for the evening prayers,” Zadran mentioned, including that they had been ready for an replace.
The minivans had been focused in the northern metropolis of Mazar-e-Sharif after explosive units had been positioned contained in the autos, in keeping with Mohammad Asif Waziri, a Taliban-appointed spokesman in Balkh province. He mentioned the explosions killed 9 and wounded 15.
The IS declare of duty was posted on the Sunni militant group’s Aamaq news company. The assertion mentioned IS focused three buses with improvised explosive units.
There was no declare of duty for the Kabul mosque explosion, however it additionally bore the hallmarks of the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group, referred to as Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or IS-Okay.
The IS affiliate, which has been working in Afghanistan since 2014, is seen as the best safety problem going through the nation’s new Taliban rulers. Following their takeover once they seized energy in Kabul and elsewhere in the nation final August, the Taliban have launched a sweeping crackdown towards the IS headquarters in jap Afghanistan.
