At least 11 people were killed in an explosion near a mosque in northern Afghanistan during a memorial service for the provincial deputy governor of the Taliban, who was killed in an attack earlier this week, according to officials.
According to Abdul Nafi Takor, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the interior ministry, a former Taliban police official was among those killed and more than 30 others were injured in the explosion near Nabawi Mosque on Thursday.
Takor stated that there were worries the death toll might increase further.
The explosion occurred during the funeral for Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Badakhshan who died in a car bombing on Tuesday.
The deputy governor’s driver was also killed in that attack in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, and 10 other people were injured.
Safiullah Samim, a former Taliban police chief in Baghlan, was reportedly killed in the explosion on Thursday, according to Moazuddin Ahmadi, the Taliban official in charge of information and culture.
Hamid Karzai, a former president of Afghanistan, condemned the attack in a tweet, claiming that it was “terrorism” and went “against human and Islamic standards” to bomb mosques.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb attack. The ISIL (ISIS) armed group claimed responsibility for the car bombing on Tuesday.
The Taliban government has been conducting raids against ISIL members, who have been responsible for a number of major attacks in populated areas.
In an attack in March, the group claimed responsibility for the death of the governor of the northern Balkh province while targeting members of the Taliban government.
Source-Aljazeera
