KABUL (Dispatches) – At least three people were killed and 15 wounded Friday by a blast at a mosque in Afghanistan’s restive Nangarhar province, a hospital official told AFP.
The blast happened in Spin Ghar district of the eastern province, a hotbed of Daesh terrorist group’s activity since the Taliban seized power in the country in August.
“I can confirm a blast during Friday prayers inside a mosque in Spin Ghar district. There are casualties and fatalities,” a Taliban official told AFP.
“So far three killed, 15 wounded,” a doctor at the local hospital told AFP.
The Afghan branch of the Daesh, which first emerged in Nangarhar in 2015, has claimed responsibility for a series of bloody attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power.
One of the latest, in early November, saw Daesh terrorists raid the Kabul National Military Hospital, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 50.
More than 120 people were killed in Daesh attacks earlier this year on two mosques popular with the ethnic minority Hazara Shia community.
Some believe the United States has hatched a plot to use Daesh to make Afghanistan unsafe for its people and neighbors.
The Taliban took power in Afghanistan in mid-August, as the U.S. was in the middle of a chaotic troop withdrawal from the country. The group announced the formation of a caretaker government on September 7.
In another development, the United States and Qatar have agreed that Qatar will represent the diplomatic interests of the United States in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official told Reuters.
Qatar will sign an arrangement with the United States to assume the role of “protecting power” for U.S. interests in Afghanistan.
The move comes at a time when the United States and other Western countries are grappling with how to engage with the Taliban after the group took over Afghanistan in a lightning advance in August, as U.S.-led forces started a chaotic withdrawal from the country after two decades of war.
Many countries, including the United States and European states, are reluctant to formally recognize the Taliban as critics say they are back-tracking on pledges of political and ethnic inclusivity and not to sideline women and minorities.
But with winter approaching, many countries realize they need to engage more to prevent the deeply impoverished country from plunging into a humanitarian catastrophe.
According to the arrangement, which will come into effect on 31 December, Qatar will dedicate certain staff from its embassy in Afghanistan to a U.S. Interests Section and will coordinate closely with the U.S. State Department and with the U.S. mission in Doha.
Millions of Afghans face growing hunger amid soaring food prices, a drought and an economy in freefall, fuelled by a hard cash shortage, sanctions on Taliban leaders and the suspension of much-needed financial aid.