KABUL, Afghanistan (Dispatches) — A suicide bomber blew himself up among worshippers attending Friday prayers at a Shia mosque in northern Afghanistan, martyring at least seven people and wounding 15 others, a police spokesperson said.
The attack happened in the city of Pol-e-Khomri, the capital of Baghlan province, police spokesman Sher Ahmad Borhani said in a statement. Security officials were working to determine how the attacker reached the area to strike at the Imam Zaman mosque.
Iran condemned the bombing, calling it one of the “most vicious of terrorist crimes.”
A statement by the ministry’s spokesman Nassern Kanaani condemned the “painful” attack in the strongest terms and said it shows its perpetrators are “diverted from Islam’s genuine teachings.”
He extended condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery for those injured.
A separate statement by Iran’s embassy in Afghanistan also condemned the terror attack, blaming “extremist terrorists backed by the U.S. and the Zionist regime.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but blame is likely to fall on the Daesh terrorist group, which targeted Afghanistan’s minority Shia Muslims in past large-scale attacks.
The Taliban footage from the mosque showed debris strewn over a red-carpeted floor, scattered personal data-x-items and bodies covered with shrouds.
The regional affiliate of Daesh, known as Daesh in Khorasan Province, increased attacks on mosques and minorities across the country after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
Daesh, which has operated in Afghanistan since 2014, is seen as the greatest security challenge facing the country. Following their takeover, the Taliban launched a sweeping crackdown against the takfiri group.
Since 2022, the terrorists have conducted more than 190 suicide bombings, leaving some 1,300 injured or dead, a UN Security Council report said in May.
Daesh terrorists are blamed for the September 2022 bombing of a study hall in a Shia neighborhood of the capital Kabul, that martyred at least 53 people, including 46 girls and young women.