“An explosion in a mosque of our Shiite brothers killed 10 people and injured 15,” said Asif Waziri, police spokesman for Balkh province, of which Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital.
Footage circulating on social media, the authenticity of which could not be independently verified, showed victims being taken to hospitals from the Seh Dokan mosque, where the floor was littered with shards of glass.
In addition, at least four people were killed and 18 injured in Kunduz (north-east) in the explosion of a bomb placed on a bicycle, at the passage of a vehicle transporting civilian mechanics working for a Taliban military unit, said provincial police spokesman Obaidullah Abedi. And in Kabul, an explosive device placed on the side of the road injured two children, according to the police in the capital.
The most targeted Shiites
Security has improved in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August and the withdrawal of American troops, after 20 years of attrition against their military presence.
Attacks, mainly claimed by the Islamic State-Khorasan (EI-K), the regional branch of the IS, however, still occur regularly.
On Tuesday, at least six people were killed and 24 injured in two explosions that hit a boys’ school in a Kabul neighborhood largely populated by members of the Shia Hazara minority. None of the week’s attacks have yet been claimed.
ruthless struggle
The Hazara community, which represents between 10 and 20% of the Afghan population (about 40 million inhabitants), has been persecuted for a long time in this country with a Sunni majority. She has often been targeted by Daesh, who considers her a heretic, before and since the seizure of power by the Taliban, who themselves attacked her in the past.
The Taliban are trying to downplay the threat of ISIS and are waging a ruthless fight against the group, which they have been fighting for years. They multiplied raids, particularly in the eastern province of Nangharar, and arrested hundreds of men accused of being part of it. They now claim to have defeated EI-K, but analysts believe that the extremist group is still the main security challenge for the new Afghan power.
This group is accused of having carried out or claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest attacks in recent years in Afghanistan.
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