Deadly blast rips through Shia mosque in Afghanistan

Blast at Sai Doken mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif leaves dozens dead or wounded, officials say.

A powerful explosion has ripped through a Shia mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, northern Afghanistan, causing dozens of casualties, according to officials.

“Preliminary reports confirm there are at least 25 casualties,” Zabihullah Noorani, head of Balkh province’s information and culture department, told the AFP news agency.

Dr Ghawsuddin Anwari, head of the main hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, told The Associated Press news agency the blast killed at least 10 worshippers and wounded another 40.

He said the victims were brought to the hospital from the mosque in ambulances and private cars.

An ISIL (ISIS) affiliate known as the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP or ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for attack.

Earlier on Thursday in the capital, Kabul, a roadside bomb exploded and wounded two children.

Kabul police spokesman, Khalid Zadran, said in a tweet the bomb went off in the median strip of a road in a western area of Kabul in a mostly Shia neighbourhood.

Two days earlier in the same area, multiple explosions targeting educational institutions killed at least six people, mostly children, and wounded 17 others.

Separately on Thursday, at least four people were killed and 18 wounded by a blast in Kunduz city.

Provincial police spokesman Obaidullah Abedi told AFP it was caused by a bicycle bomb targeting a vehicle carrying mechanics working for a Taliban military unit.