Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
A suicide bomber exploded at a mosque filled with worshipers for Friday prayers (15/10) in Kandahar, Afghanistan South. A total of 47 people were reported killed, and 70 people were injured in the attack.
Taliban officials called the suicide bombing the deadliest day since the withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan.
So far, no party has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Fatimiya mosque, Kandahar province.
The attack came a week after a bomb attack, which was claimed to be an ISIS attack, on a Shia mosque in northern Afghanistan. At least 46 people were reported killed in the incident.
The bloodshed in Afghanistan is said to have raised fears that ISIS, an enemy of the Taliban and the West, will expand its foothold in Afghanistan.
Murtaza, a worshiper who was inside the mosque when the attack took place, said there were four explosions in the mosque area, two explosions inside and the rest outside the mosque.
Another witness in charge of security at the mosque said he saw two people suspected of carrying bombs.
He said one detonated explosives outside the gate, and the other was among worshipers inside the mosque.
The witness said mosque security personnel had shot another suspected attacker who was outside the mosque.
Video footage showed bloodied bodies strewn on the mosque carpet, with survivors walking by crying in grief.
The Ahl al-Bayt Shia Assembly, a global religious society, condemned the attack in Kandahar. It accused security forces in Afghanistan of being “incapable” of dealing with such attacks.
ISIS has claimed a number of deadly bombs across the country since the Taliban seized power in August amid a US troop withdrawal. The group has also targeted Taliban fighters in smaller attacks.
Several bomb attacks in the northern, eastern provinces and the capital of Afghanistan are thought to have raised Taliban doubts, in the fight against the threat launched by ISIS.
The Taliban previously promised to restore peace and security to the country after decades of turmoil.
It claims to have given assurances to the US that it will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a tool to launch extremist attacks on other countries.
(cha/fjr)
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