ISIS claims responsibility for an attack on a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan that killed 41 people

ISIS "Khorasan Province" claimed a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in the Afghan city of Kandahar on Friday, killing at least 41 people and wounding dozens.


In a statement posted on its Telegram channels, the organization said that two suicide bombers had carried out two separate attacks inside the mosque during Friday prayers.


He added in the statement, "The first detonated his explosive jacket on the crowds of polytheists in the hallway of the temple, while the other blew up his explosive jacket in the middle of the temple."


"A large number of our countrymen were killed today, on the blessed Friday, as a result of a brutal attack on a Shiite mosque," said Kandahar police chief Maulvi Mahmoud.


He added in a video statement that armed Shiites were the ones who supervised the security of the mosque, but from now on the Taliban will take over its protection.


The attack comes exactly a week after a suicide attack targeting Shiite worshipers in the city of Kunduz (north), which was claimed by ISIS.


"Information from hospitals indicates that 41 people were killed and about 70 wounded in today's attack on a mosque," said Hafez Abdul Hai Abbas, director of health in Kandahar.


At least 15 ambulances were seen rushing to the scene of the attack, while Taliban security personnel imposed a cordon around the area.


"We are facing a lot of pressure," a doctor told AFP. There are many dead bodies and many wounded have been taken to hospital. We expect more to arrive. We urgently need blood. We asked all the media in Kandahar to ask people to come and donate blood.”


Eyewitnesses reported hearing gunfire and explosions, while a guard responsible for protecting the mosque said that three of his companions were shot dead while the suicide bombers were trying to enter.


"It was the time for Friday prayers, and when we were getting ready, I heard shooting," Sayed Ruhallah told AFP. Two people entered the mosque.


"They opened fire on the guards, and the guards responded by shooting at them," he said. One of them carried out a suicide bombing inside the mosque.”


Two other attackers blew themselves up among crowds outside the main building, according to the source and eyewitnesses.


"We are saddened to learn that an explosion took place in a Shiite Brotherhood mosque in the first district of Kandahar city, in which a number of our compatriots were martyred and injured," said a spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, Qari Syed Khosti, on Twitter.


Pictures spread on social media, whose authenticity could not be immediately verified, showed bodies lying on the grounds of the "Fatima" mosque.


"The sound of gunfire started after we finished praying," said Ahmed Allah, a resident. And then there were two or three explosions.” 


"There are many martyrs and wounded," he added. I don't know what happened next."


Washington condemned the attack, which took place on Friday. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Washington renews its call for "the Taliban to fulfill their commitment to fight terrorism, and in particular to address the common threat we face" represented by "ISIS-K." 


"We are determined to ensure that no group ... can again use Afghan soil as a launching pad for attacks against the United States or other countries," Price added.


Last Friday, a suicide bomber from the Islamic State-Khorasan Province targeted a Shiite mosque in Kunduz, killing dozens.


The rival organization of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks that targeted Shiite worshipers, whom ISIS considers infidels.


Meanwhile, the Kremlin's envoy on the Afghan file, Zamir Kabulov, announced Friday that Moscow will host on October 19 talks on Afghanistan, including the United States, China and Pakistan.


"The meeting will include the expanded troika in which Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan will participate, and we will try to reach a common position on the volatile situation in Afghanistan," said the official, whose statement was reported by Russian news agencies.


The conflict-related analytics company X-Track reported earlier that if ISIS-Khorasan takes responsibility for Friday's attack, it will be the first attack carried out by the organization in Kandahar and the fourth massacre that resulted in a large number of casualties since the Taliban took control of Kabul.


X-Track researcher Abdul Sayed told AFP that the attack "presents a challenge to the Taliban's claim that they are in control of the country. If the Taliban is not able to protect Kandahar from an attack by ISIS-K, how can it protect the rest of the country?”


“The United Nations condemns the recent brutal act targeting a religious institution and worshipers,” a tweet from the United Nations mission in Afghanistan said. Those responsible must be held accountable.”


The Taliban, which took control of Afghanistan in mid-August after the Western-backed government was overthrown, also has a history of persecuting Shiites.


But the new government led by the Taliban pledged to restore stability to the country, in the wake of the Kunduz attack, and also pledged to protect the Shiite minority that lives today under its rule.


Shiites make up roughly 10 percent of Afghanistan's population and are predominantly Hazara, an ethnic group persecuted for decades in Afghanistan.


In October 2017, a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque west of Kabul, killing 56 people and wounding 55.


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