Taliban authorities pledged to step up safety at Shia mosques as tons of of individuals gathered on Saturday to bury the victims of the second Islamic State suicide assault on worshippers in every week.
Hardline Sunni group Islamic State claimed accountability for the assault on the Fatima mosque in Kandahar that noticed a gaggle of suicide bombers shoot their manner into the mosque earlier than blowing themselves up among the many worshippers throughout Friday prayers.A well being official mentioned the casualty toll from the assault stood at 41 lifeless and 70 wounded however might rise additional.”Some of the wounded are in a critical condition, and we are trying to transfer them to Kabul,” he mentioned.On Saturday, massive crowds gathered to bury the white-shrouded victims in a mass grave within the southern metropolis of Kandahar.The head of Kandahar police mentioned items can be assigned to guard the Shia mosques which have to date been guarded by native volunteer forces with particular permission to hold weapons.”Unfortunately, they could not protect this area and in future, we will assign special security guards for the protection of mosques and Madrasas,” he mentioned in a press release posted on Twitter by a Taliban spokesman.The assault on the Fatima mosque, the biggest Shia mosque in Kandahar, often known as the Imam Bargah mosque, got here every week after an analogous assault on a mosque within the northern metropolis of Kunduz, which killed as many as 80 individuals.Attacks on Shia mosques and targets related to the Hazara ethnic minority, who make up the most important Shia group in Afghanistan, have been common occurrences beneath the previous Western-backed authorities.There has been deep shock because the assaults have continued because the Taliban seized energy in August, tarnishing the motion’s declare to have introduced peace to Afghanistan after many years of battle.Since the takeover, Islamic State has performed dozens of operations, from small scale assaults on Taliban targets to large-scale operations akin to Friday’s suicide bombing, killing scores of civilians.Read | Suicide assault on Shia mosque in Afghanistan kills 47Read | Four suicide bombers concerned in assault on Kandahar mosque: Reports