A huge explosion rocked one of the biggest mosques in Herat, western Afghanistan, on Friday, killing its influential imam and causing many other victims, according to local authorities.
“Eighteen people were killed in the incident and 23 others were injured,” a spokesman for the governor of the province said in a message sent to the press.
Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, a renowned cleric and leading supporter of the Taliban, was among the victims.
He was killed in "a brutal attack on Friday in Herat", the government spokesman said on Twitter.
"The Islamic Emirate expresses its deep sorrow for his death and those responsible for this incident will be punished for their heinous acts," he promised.
The explosion took place at the Gazarghah mosque, one of the main ones in Herat, of which Ansari was the imam, reported TOLOnews, the country's main private channel.
Footage circulating on social media shows what appear to be bloodied bodies strewn around the mosque grounds.
Speaking at an assembly of clerics in Kabul in early July, Ansari said anyone trying to overthrow the Taliban regime should be beheaded.
"This [Taliban] flag was not raised easily, and it will not be lowered easily," he said. "All religious scholars in Afghanistan should agree […] that anyone who commits any act against our government Islam should be beheaded and eliminated".
With AFP
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