KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (Dispatches) -- Mourners from Afghanistan’s minority Shia community buried their dead Saturday after a terrorist attack on a mosque martyred more than 60 people.
A gravedigger in the Shia cemetery overlooking the northern city of Kunduz told AFP they had handled 62 bodies, and local reports suggested the final toll could be up to 100.
Scores more victims were also wounded in Friday’s blast, which was claimed by Daesh and appeared designed to further destabilize Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover.
The regional branch of the sectarian Daesh, known as Daesh-K, has repeatedly targeted Shia Muslims in Afghanistan.
Daesh said the attack was carried out by a Uyghur bomber who had “detonated an explosive vest amid a crowd” of Shia worshipers.
The attack happened during Friday prayers - the most important of the week for Muslims - and residents of the city told AFP that hundreds of worshippers were inside.
In a heart-wrenching scene, relatives gathered around the newly-dug graves in Kunduz wailed inconsolably over their loved ones.
“We are really hurt by what happened,” Zemarai Mubarak Zada, 42, told AFP as he mourned his 17-year-old nephew, who he said had wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor.
“He wanted to get married. He wanted to go to university,” he said.
Images from the scene of the attack Friday showed debris strewn inside the mosque, its windows blown out by the explosion. Some men were seen carrying a body draped in a bloody sheet to an ambulance.
“It was a very terrifying incident,” said a teacher in Kunduz, who lives near the mosque.
“Many of our neighbors have been killed and wounded. A 16-year-old neighbor was killed. They couldn’t find half of his body.”
The Taliban’s efforts to consolidate power have been undermined by a series of deadly Daesh attacks.
The Taliban security chief in the northern city accused the mosque attackers of trying to foment trouble between Shias and Sunnis.
“We assure our Shia brothers that in the future, we will provide security for them and that such problems will not happen to them,” Mulawi Dost Muhammad said.
The attack was met with broad international condemnation, with UN chief Antonio Guterres calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi voiced concern about the persistence of terrorist acts in Afghanistan.
“It is no secret to anyone that the growth of this Takfiri terrorist movement has taken place with the supports and plans of the U.S.,” he said. “In recent years, the United States has facilitated further activities of Daesh criminals in Afghanistan and prevented their eradication.”
Raisi reminded that the atrocious act occurred on the first day of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the third month of the Lunar Hijri Calendar, which he said is “the month of unity among Muslims.”
The Iranian president said the terrorist act is aimed at sowing discord among Muslims.
“We hope that with the vigilance of Afghan groups and the formation of an inclusive government, a large part of this plot will be thwarted and, God willing, the Afghan people will be able to experience peace,” he said.
The Taliban on Saturday ruled out cooperation with the United States to contain extremist groups in Afghanistan. “We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said.
Shia Muslims have suffered some of Afghanistan’s most violent assaults, with rallies bombed, hospitals targeted and commuters ambushed.
Shias make up about 20 per cent of the Afghan population. Many of them are Hazara, an ethnic group that has been persecuted for decades.
In October 2017, a Daesh terrorist struck a Shia mosque in the west of Kabul, killing 56 people and wounding 55.
And in May this year, a series of bombings outside a school in the capital killed at least 85 people, mostly young girls. More than 300 were wounded in this attack on the Hazara community.