Afghanistan: Death toll in Paktia mosque blast touches 34
Kabul, Aug 4 (IBNS): The death toll in Friday's suicide blast inside a mosque in Afghanistan's southeastern Paktia province has touched 34, media reports said on Saturday.
At least 94 others were injured in the blast.
The governor’s spokesman, Abdullah Hasrat told Pajhwok Afghan News that at least 34 people had been killed and more than 94 others wounded in the suicide attack.
The injured were reportedly rushed to different hospitals in the city for treatment.
Security forces cordoned off the area after the blast.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) denounced the attack in Gardez city, about 50 miles south of Kabul, when two suicide bombers detonated their explosive vests.
“This attack targeting civilians has no possible justification,” said UNAMA chief, Tadamichi Yamamoto, who also serves as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. “Those who are responsible for enabling this attack must be brought to justice and held to account.”
According to news reports, the Taliban has denied any links to the attack and there was no immediate claim of responsibility, but militants linked to the ISIL terrorist group, also known as Da’esh, have carried out similar attacks against Shiites in the past.
As per mid-July figures from UNAMA, 1,692 civilians had been killed and another 3,430 injured in the first six months of the year.
This sets a record high for the first six months of any year, despite an unprecedented days-long ceasefire between the Government and Taliban extremists in mid-June.
UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.