Kabul mosque attack death toll rises to 27

Record ID: 78039

  • Title: Kabul mosque attack death toll rises to 27
  • Date: 21st November 2016
  • Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (NOVEMBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE TARGETED BY A SUICIDE BOMBER, AMBULANCE DRIVING PAST VARIOUS OF AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES STANDING NEAR MOSQUE MOSQUE WINDOW FRAMES LEFT WITHOUT GLASS AFGHAN SECURITY PERSONNEL TAKING PHOTOS OF SCENE AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) EYEWITNESS, SAYED ALI, SAYING: "I personally helped Afghan security forces take away some 30 to 35 bodies from inside the mosque and more than a hundred others who were wounded in this blast." POLICE WALKING VARIOUS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES DRIVING PAST
  • Embargoed: 6th December 2016 10:17
  • Keywords: suicide bomb shia mosque Kabul
  • Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
  • City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Bombing (non-military),Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA00159DZNT3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:A suicide bomber killed at least 27 people and wounded dozens on Monday (November 21) in an explosion at a crowded Shi'ite mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, officials said.
    The attacker entered the Baqir ul Olum mosque during a ceremony, the interior ministry said in a statement.
    "I personally helped Afghan security forces take away some 30 to 35 bodies from inside the mosque and more than a hundred others who were wounded in this blast," said one eyewitness, Sayed Ali.
    The Taliban, seeking to reimpose Islamic law after their 2001 ouster, denied they were responsible for the attack.
    "We have never attacked mosques as it's not our agenda," said the movement's main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.
    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.
    Government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah condemned the attack as a sign of barbarism but said Afghanistan should not fall victim to "enemy plots that divide us by titles".
    "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.
    In July, more than 80 people were killed in an attack on a demonstration by the mainly Shi'ite Hazara minority that was claimed by Islamic State militants.
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