Four killed in Kabul mosque blast

A blast which ripped through a crowd during Friday prayers at a mosque in Kabul has claimed the lives of four people.

Afghan officials said that this is the latest attack on the city ahead of potential talks with insurgents.

“Based on our initial information, at around noon explosives placed inside the mosque detonated during Friday prayers,” interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said in a message to journalists.

A health ministry spokesman also confirmed the toll, saying the prayer leader and three worshippers were killed at the Sher Shah Suri mosque, while several others were wounded.

No group has claimed the attack, but the Taliban later condemned the bombing saying the insurgents considered the incident a “heinous crime”.

The bombing comes just over a week after an Islamic State-claimed attack killed two people, including a popular prayer leader, at a mosque on the edge of Kabul’s heavily fortified green zone.

Afghanistan is juggling multiple crises, with the coronavirus rapidly spreading across the country and continuing violence even as the government and Taliban signal they are getting closer to sitting down for talks.

President Ashraf Ghani vowed Thursday to complete a Taliban prisoner release that is a key condition to the launch of peace talks with the insurgents.

Once the swap is done, the two sides have pledged to begin negotiations that could end nearly 19 years of war.

The Taliban have largely refrained from launching major attacks on Afghan cities since February when they signed a deal with the US meant to pave the way for peace talks with the Kabul government.

A ceasefire during last month’s Eid al Fitr holidays also sparked hopes that the two sides may be getting closer to holding negotiations even as a recent uptick in fighting has tempered expectations.

The ceasefire was just the second observed in the country since the Taliban were toppled by a US invasion in 2001 following the September 11 attacks by Al-Qaeda, whose leader Osama bin Laden was sheltered by the regime.

Somalia blast : 10 killed, 12 injured

The government of Somalia has said that at least 10 people died and 12 were wounded when an explosive device ripped through a minibus outside the Somalia capital, Mogadishu today.

The deadly explosion occurred near Lafole village along the Afgoye-Mogadishu where the passenger bus was travelling early in the day.

“At least 10 civilians were killed in an explosion at Lafole area this morning, those who died were all civilians,” the information ministry said in a statement, adding that the victims were on their way to a funeral.

Witnesses said the minibus was completely destroyed, and described a horrific scene with everyone on board either dead or wounded and many bodies ripped apart or burned beyond recognition.

“This was a horrible incident this morning, the explosive device went off as the bus was passing by the area and destroyed it completely,” said Daud Doyow, a witness.

“Bodies of civilians were strewn in pieces and most of the people died,” he added.

“There were more than 20 people on board and 10 of them were confirmed dead while the rest are seriously wounded and taken to hospital, this is a horrible scene here,” said another witness, Abdirisak Adan.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Somalia’s al Qaeda-aligned Shabaab group carries out regular attacks in and around the capital, often killing civilians.