Shiite minority
At least 20 dead after explosion in Afghan mosque
A week ago there was an attack on a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan. Photo: Abdullah Sahil / AP / dpa / archive image
© dpa-infocom GmbH
For the second time within a week there has been an attack on a mosque belonging to the Shiite minority in Afghanistan. Again many people die.
According to local authorities, at least 20 people were killed and 30 others injured in an explosion in a Shiite mosque in southern Afghanistan.
These are preliminary figures, an official from the Kandahar City Health Department said on Friday. The Taliban ruling in the country initially only spoke of several dead and injured and did not give any details.
Special forces are on site to investigate the type of detonation, said a spokesman for the militant Islamist Taliban. Those responsible would be held accountable. So far, no group has committed to the attack.
Local media spoke of a bomb attack. It was the second explosion in a Shiite church within a week. The attack in Kandahar was carried out during Friday prayers, the reports said. In pictures in the media and on social networks, injured persons were shown lying on the floor.
Another targeted attack on Shiites?
Just last Friday, more than 40 people were killed and more than 140 injured in a suicide attack on a mosque belonging to the Shiite minority in the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. The Sunni terrorist militia Islamic State (IS), which is hostile to the ruling Taliban, claimed the attack for itself. Sunni extremists accuse Shiite Muslims of having fallen from the right faith.
IS is hostile to the Taliban, which is also Sunni, despite great ideological closeness. The Taliban have fought ISIS since it appeared in Afghanistan in early 2015.
ISIS had already attacked Shiite Muslims and their facilities in Afghanistan in the past. Attacks occurred mainly in the capital Kabul and in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. Most recently, IS claimed, among other things, a devastating attack at the end of August at Kabul airport while the international military evacuation mission was still ongoing. At that time, according to media reports, almost 200 people died.
In mid-August, the Taliban took over military power in Afghanistan. The army and police fell apart and government officials fled. The Islamists proclaimed a government. This is confronted with numerous problems, such as ensuring security in the country. Afghanistan is also facing a massive humanitarian crisis and, according to the UN, a possible economic collapse.
Last weekend in Doha, the capital of the Gulf emirate of Qatar, the first personal talks between representatives of the USA and the Taliban took place since they came to power. At the two-day meeting, the US delegation focused, among other things, on security and terrorism issues, the US State Department then announced. It was also about the safe departure of US citizens, other foreign nationals and Afghan local staff, as well as compliance with human rights and humanitarian aid for the population.