Kabul: At least 62 people were killed in a bomb blast during a prayer at a mosque in Afghanistan's Nangarhar area, media reports said.
The blast left several people injured.
Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial government, told Khaama Press the explosion wounded at least 33 people.
Khogyani told the news agency that the explosion took place during the Friday prayers inside a mosque in Haska Mina district of Nangarhar.
According to reports, the roof of the mosque following the blast.
Several people were participating in the prayer meeting when the blast occurred.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.
Casualty in Afghanistan:
Afghanistan has seen record-high levels of civilian casualties in the third quarter of 2019, stemming mainly from the violence between rival political party supporters, the UN Assistance Mission in the country (UNAMA) revealed in a report published Thursday, which concluded that more must be done to protect the country’s people.
In just the first nine months of 2019 overall, UNAMA counted more than 8,200 civilian casualties - 2,563 killed and 5,676 injured - similar to figures in the corresponding nine-month periods from 2014 onwards. But the last three months, has seen an “unprecedented number of civilian casualties”, UNAMA said.
In July, the Mission documented the country’s bloodiest month on record, with the highest number of civilian casualties in a single month since the UN began systematic documentation in the country, in 2009.
“Civilian casualties at record-high levels clearly show the need for all parties concerned to pay much more attention to protecting the civilian population, including through a review of conduct during combat operations,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.
The harm done signals the importance of peace talks for a ceasefire, Mr. Yamamoto added, calling for a political settlement to the conflict. “There is no other way forward”, he said.
This year the country saw an overall decline in civilian casualties during the first six months, largely due to a decrease in the number of casualties caused by political opponents of the Government, but brutal clashes reignited around the time civilians headed to the ballot box in late September, with election-related violence claiming at least 85 lives, and injuring hundreds more, UNAMA revealed in special investigation published on Tuesday.
The Thursday quarterly report documented that from the New Year through 30 September, anti-Government elements were responsible for more than 5,000 civilian casualties, comprising 62 per cent of total civilian casualties for the time period.
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