Three civilians killed in Afghan mosque shooting

Three Afghan civilians were killed and nine others wounded in a shooting at a mosque in the country's eastern province of Paktia.

"The shooting took place at a mosque in Police District 2 of provincial capital Gardez city at round 8:45 p.m. (local time) when worshipers were offering Tarawih prayers," the Xinhua quoted an Interior Ministry statement, as saying. Muslims offer the Tarawih prayers only during the month of Ramadan of the Islamic calendar at night.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack came as Afghans are observing fast in the holy month of Ramadan.

President Ashraf Ghani has ordered a national day of mourning to be observed on Saturday to honor the victims of the recent deadly attacks in Kabul, Khost and Heart provinces.

The statement was issued on Friday stated the decision was made to express condolences with the families of those who lost their lives in deadly blasts over the past week.

Government called on the people to attend prayer ceremonies in mosques on Saturday and pray for the souls of those who had lost their lives in terrorist attacks and for the swift recovery of the wounded.

The Afghan flag will fly half-mast across the country and in Afghanistan's political offices in other countries, the statement said.

Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as 715 civilians were killed and over 1,460 others injured in conflict-related incidents across Afghanistan in the first three months of the year, according to figures released by the United Nations mission in the country.

-ANI