KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber attacked a Shi’ite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, killing 25 people and wounding 40, police said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but police said at least two men had entered the mosque in the city of Gardez in the province of Paktia where about 60 people were praying.

“Emergency teams have collected 25 bodies from the mosque premises and 40 people have been rushed to hospital,” said Abdullah Hazrat, a senior government official who was at the blast site.

One witness told Reuters that Shi’ite Muslims, a minority in Sunni-majority Afghanistan, were praying when one man detonated his explosives. A second attacker is reported to have opened fire as worshippers gathered.

Afghanistan has mostly avoided the sectarian violence that has devastated countries such as Iraq, but there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Shi’ite targets in recent years.

No reliable census information exists on the size of the Shi’ite community in Afghanistan, but estimates range around 10-20 percent, with most coming from the Persian-speaking Hazara and Tajik ethnic groups. </s> KABUL (Reuters) - Thirty-nine people were killed in a suicide bombing of a Shi’ite mosque in eastern Afghanistan, and the death toll may climb further, police and government officials said on Friday.

Two burka-clad militants attacked the mosque in the city of Gardez in the province of Paktia where more than 100 people had gathered to offer prayers, said Raz Mohammad Mandozai, the police chief of Paktia.

At least 80 people were injured when the men struck with guns and explosives at the Khawaja Hassan mosque.

Gardez city hospital reported receiving at least 50 adults and 20 children wounded in the attack.

Abdullah Hazrat, a senior government official, said the militants opened fire on the worshippers and one blew himself up. Security guards stationed at the mosque gunned down the other militant.

According to an eyewitness, the assailants had entered the prayer hall and were wearing full-face veils.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Friday attack but militant group Islamic State (IS) has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Shi’ite mosques in Afghanistan.

The attack underlines the country’s dire security situation after four decades of war and 17 years of U.S. intervention. Islamic State increasingly claims responsibility for attacks on civilian targets even as pressure builds for peace talks between the Western-backed government and the Taliban.

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Islamic State has frequently targeted Afghanistan’s Shi’ite minority, which it calls “apostates.”

While Afghanistan’s wars have mostly been fought among Sunni Muslims, there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Shi’ite targets in recent years.

No reliable census information exists on the size of the Shi’ite community in Afghanistan, but estimates range around 10-15 percent, including most members of the Persian-speaking Hazara ethnic group and some Tajiks. </s> KABUL — Thirty-nine people were killed in a suicide bombing of a Shi'ite mosque in eastern Afghanistan, and the death toll may climb further, police and government officials said on Friday.

Two burka-clad militants attacked the mosque in the city of Gardez in the province of Paktia where more than 100 people had gathered to offer prayers, said Raz Mohammad Mandozai, the police chief of Paktia.

At least 80 people were injured when the men struck with guns and explosives at the Khawaja Hassan mosque.

Gardez city hospital reported receiving at least 50 adults and 20 children wounded in the attack.

Abdullah Hazrat, a senior government official, said the militants opened fire on the worshippers and one blew himself up. Security guards stationed at the mosque gunned down the other militant.

According to an eyewitness, the assailants had entered the prayer hall and were wearing full-face veils.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Friday attack but militant group Islamic State (IS) has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Shi'ite mosques in Afghanistan.

The attack underlines the country’s dire security situation after four decades of war and 17 years of U.S. intervention. Islamic State increasingly claims responsibility for attacks on civilian targets even as pressure builds for peace talks between the Western-backed government and the Taliban.

Islamic State has frequently targeted Afghanistan’s Shi'ite minority, which it calls "apostates."

While Afghanistan's wars have mostly been fought among Sunni Muslims, there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Shi’ite targets in recent years.

No reliable census information exists on the size of the Shi’ite community in Afghanistan, but estimates range around 10-15 percent, including most members of the Persian-speaking Hazara ethnic group and some Tajiks. </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in eastern Afghanistan that killed 39 people and wounded at least 80 others.

CAIRO: Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in eastern Afghanistan that killed 39 people and wounded at least 80 others.

In a statement carried by its Amaq news agency, the group said around 150 Shi'ites and security forces members were killed or wounded in Friday's attack in the city of Gardez in Paktia province, but gave few details on how the attack was carried out.

The Paktia police chief said that two burka-clad militants carried out the attack on the mosque, where more than 100 people had gathered to pray.

The group has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Shi'ite mosques, security installations and civilians in Afghanistan in recent weeks as pressure builds for peace talks between the Western-backed government and the Taliban.

The attack underlines the dire security situation after four decades of war and 17 years of U.S. intervention.

No reliable census information exists on the size of the Shi’ite community in Afghanistan, but estimates range around 10-15 percent, including most members of the Persian-speaking Hazara ethnic group and some Tajiks. </s> KABUL — Thirty-nine people were killed in a suicide bombing of a Shi’ite mosque in eastern Afghanistan, and the death toll may climb further, police and government officials said on Friday.

Two burka-clad militants attacked the mosque in the city of Gardez in the province of Paktia where more than 100 people had gathered to offer prayers, said Raz Mohammad Mandozai, the police chief of Paktia.

At least 80 people were injured when the men struck with guns and explosives at the Khawaja Hassan mosque.

Gardez city hospital reported receiving at least 50 adults and 20 children wounded in the attack.

Abdullah Hazrat, a senior government official, said the militants opened fire on the worshippers and one blew himself up. Security guards stationed at the mosque gunned down the other militant.

According to an eyewitness, the assailants had entered the prayer hall and were wearing full-face veils.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Friday attack but militant group Islamic State (IS) has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Shi’ite mosques in Afghanistan.

A man holds the shoe of a victim of the attack outside the mosque.Farid Zahir / AFP – Getty Images

The attack underlines the country’s dire security situation after four decades of war and 17 years of U.S. intervention. Islamic State increasingly claims responsibility for attacks on civilian targets even as pressure builds for peace talks between the Western-backed government and the Taliban.

Islamic State has frequently targeted Afghanistan’s Shi’ite minority, which it calls “apostates.”

While Afghanistan’s wars have mostly been fought among Sunni Muslims, there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Shi’ite targets in recent years.

No reliable census information exists on the size of the Shi’ite community in Afghanistan, but estimates range around 10-15 percent, including most members of the Persian-speaking Hazara ethnic group and some Tajiks. </s> CAIRO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in eastern Afghanistan that killed 39 people and wounded at least 80 others.

In a statement carried by its Amaq news agency, the group said around 150 Shi'ites and security forces members were killed or wounded in Friday's attack in the city of Gardez in Paktia province, but gave few details on how the attack was carried out.

The Paktia police chief said that two burka-clad militants carried out the attack on the mosque, where more than 100 people had gathered to pray.

The group has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Shi'ite mosques, security installations and civilians in Afghanistan in recent weeks as pressure builds for peace talks between the Western-backed government and the Taliban.

The attack underlines the dire security situation after four decades of war and 17 years of U.S. intervention.

No reliable census information exists on the size of the Shi´ite community in Afghanistan, but estimates range around 10-15 percent, including most members of the Persian-speaking Hazara ethnic group and some Tajiks. (Reporting by Omar Fahmy, writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) </s> KABUL, Afghanistan — Two suicide bombers attacked a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, killing at least 29 people and wounding another 81, officials said.

Abdullah Asrat, spokesman for the governor of Paktia province, said the heavily armed attackers, disguised in the all-encompassing burkas worn by conservative Afghan women, opened fire on private security guards outside the mosque in the city of Gardez. Then they slipped inside and set off their explosives among around 100 worshippers.

Five of the seriously wounded were small children, he said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has targeted Shiite worshippers in the past. The group has also warned Afghanistan’s minority Shiites that their houses of worship would be targeted.

Syed Sufi Gardezi, the most senior Shiite cleric in Gardez, put the death toll at 30. He described a scene of panic and distress outside the Imam-e-Zaman mosque as news of the explosion spread and relatives gathered.

Gardezi said the wounded were screaming for help and body parts of the dead were scattered throughout the single story mosque. The dead were all men and boys, he said.

Dr. Mohammad Wali Roshan, a physician at a local hospital, said some of the relatives, armed with sticks and guns, were furious at the lack of security and began beating people, even medical personnel who arrived to help the wounded.

“They were shouting that there was no security and screaming for their loved ones,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Gardezi blamed the Islamic State affiliate. He said the Taliban have a strong presence in the area but have never attacked Shiites in the past and have never threatened them.

Both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are made up of radical Sunni Muslims who want to overthrow the Western-backed government and impose a harsh form of Islamic law. But they are fiercely divided over leadership, ideology and tactics, and have clashed on a number of occasions. IS views Shiites as apostates deserving of death.

In the last two years, IS has attacked 24 Shiite cultural centers, mosques and schools, said Mohammad Jawad Ghawary, a member of the Shiite cleric council.

“In Afghanistan they are the biggest threat for Shiites,” he said. He called on the Afghan government and the international community to do more to protect Shiites. </s> Afghan police say two suicide bombers struck a Shi'ite mosque in the western city of Herat, killing at least one person and wounding seven others.

Police spokesman Abdul Ahad Walizada said the suicide bombers tried to enter the Nabi Akram Mosque on March 25, but one was shot dead by security guards and the other blew himself up before reaching the hall where worshippers were praying.

The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The area around the mosque was cordoned off by police and ambulances were seen rushing victims to hospitals in the city.

The Sunni extremists have frequently targeted Afghanistan’s Shi'ite minority, which they view as apostates.

The group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack outside a Shi'ite mosque in Kabul on March 21 that killed 33 people and wounded dozens as people in the capital celebrated Norouz, the Persian new year holiday.

According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 161 people were killed and 257 others were wounded in 2017 in targeted sectarian attacks against Shi'ite places of worship or worshippers.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Tolo News </s> KHOST: Hundreds of mourners Saturday buried the victims of a twin suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan, as the death toll rose to 35, officials said.

Two suicide bombers dressed as women struck a Shiite mosque in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers.

The burqa-clad attackers shot at the mosque's security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives.

"The death toll from Friday's mosque attack in Gardez has jumped to 35 with 94 wounded," Paktia governor Shamim Khan Katawazi told AFP.

Officials had earlier said 29 people were killed and more than 80 wounded.

"Today, we held funeral ceremony and buried all the martyred of Friday's attack," a weeping Sayed Moharram, who lost his 16-year old son, told AFP from a graveyard on the outskirts of Gardez where hundreds of people attended the ceremony.

"It is very difficult for me to accept my son is no more with me," he said.

Haji Sultan, 70, who also attended, accused the government of "negligence" in providing security for the Shiite minority.

"The enemies of Afghanistan want to create division by carrying out attacks on Shiite people, but they cannot win, it will further increase hatred towards the enemies," he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban denied involvement but in recent years the Islamic State group has carried out attacks on Shiites in Afghanistan.

The attack comes as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by a surge in violence in recent months, with both Islamic State and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations.

The Taliban have not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as they come under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government.

But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre.

Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar.

The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group.

Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan -- in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country. </s> KABUL (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a crowded Shi’ite mosque in Kabul on Monday that killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens in its third major attack on minority Shi’ites in the Afghan capital since July.

Officials said the attacker entered the Baqir-ul-Olum mosque shortly after midday as worshippers gathered for Arbaeen, a Shi’ite ritual marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.

A statement in Arabic from Islamic State’s Amaq news agency said one of its fighters had targeted the mosque.

Bloody sectarian rivalry between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims has been relatively rare in Afghanistan, a majority Sunni country, but the attack underlines the deadly new dimension that growing ethnic tension could bring to its decades-long conflict.

Fraidoon Obaidi, chief of the Kabul police Criminal Investigation Department, said at least 27 people were killed and 35 wounded, while the United Nations said at least 32 had been killed and more than 50 wounded, including many children. It described the attack as “an atrocity”.

“I saw people screaming and covered in blood,” one survivor told Afghanistan’s Ariana Television, adding that around 40 dead and 80 wounded had been taken from the building before rescue services arrived at the scene.

Another witness said he had helped carry 30-35 bodies from the mosque.

Islamic State, based mainly in the eastern state of Nangarhar on the border with Pakistan, has gradually expanded its reach since emerging in Afghanistan last year with a reputation for hardline fundamentalism and brutality.

Afghan policemen arrive in front of a mosque where an explosion happened in Kabul, Afghanistan November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

Prior to Monday’s attack, it had claimed responsibility for two major attacks on Shi’ite targets in Kabul, including a suicide bombing which killed more than 80 people at a demonstration by the mainly Shi’ite Hazara community, the worst single attack on civilians since 2001.

Last month, it also claimed an attack in which 18 people were killed when a gunman in police uniform opened fire on worshippers gathered at a shrine in Kabul for Ashura, one of the holiest occasions in the Shi’ite calendar.

In addition, at least 14 people were killed in an attack on a Shi’ite mosque in northern Balkh province, for which no group has so far claimed responsibility.

The Taliban, itself fiercely opposed to Islamic State, had already denied any involvement.

“We have never attacked mosques as it’s not our agenda,” said the movement’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.

Officials said the attack was a deliberate attempt to stoke sectarian tensions.

Any resurgence of sectarian or ethnic violence could threaten the fragile stability of the government headed by President Ashraf Ghani, who described the mosque blast as an attempt “to sow seeds of discord”.

Government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said Afghanistan should not fall victim to “enemy plots that divide us by titles”.

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“This attack targeted innocent civilians - including children - in a holy place. It is a war crime & an act against Islam & humanity,” he said in a message on his Twitter account.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in Afghanistan in the 15 years since the Taliban government was brought down in the U.S.-led campaign of 2001.

In July, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported that 1,601 civilians had been killed in the first half of the year alone, a record since it began collating figures in 2009.
A suicide bomb attack at a Shi'ite mosque in Gardez, Afghanistan, kills at least 29 people and wounds at least 40 others. There is no immediate claim for the attack.