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In Photos: Blood and death as Shia mosque in Kabul is hit by suicide bomber

Sehar Qazi | Updated on: 21 October 2017, 15:35 IST
A strong smell of blood and flesh permeated the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul after dozens of Shiite worshippers were slaughtered by a suicide bomber during evening prayers. (AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR)

More than 60 people have been killed and dozens are wounded in the latest attacks on Shia mosques in Afghanistan. On Friday, worshippers, including children and women, were killed as suicide bombers laid waste to Shia mosques in Kabul and Ghor. These latest attacks have been termed as the “bloodiest” in Afghanistan in recent memory.

The dead and the wounded were immediately taken to hospitals around the Afghan capital. “Afghanistan’s Shia population has been severely hit this year, with atleast 84 people killed and 194 wounded in attacks on Shia mosques and religious ceremonies”, reported a UN statement released just last week. That toll is now markedly higher.

While ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attacks, the veracity of these claims are yet to be ascertained. Images trickling in from Kabul are gruesome, showing the entire mosque spattered with blood, trickling down the walls slowly and pooling on the floor. Shattered glass and dust is strewn across the prayer hall, making it a scene of horror rather than a place for worship. 

An Afghan resident looks on inside the Imam Zaman Shiite mosque the day after a suicide attack during Friday evening prayers in Kabul. (AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR)
An Afghan man weeps inside the Imam Zaman Shiite mosque the day after a suicide attack during Friday evening prayers, in Kabul. (AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR)
Afghan residents look at victim's footwear hanging on barbed wire outside the Imam Zaman Shiite mosque the day after a suicide attack during Friday evening prayers, in Kabul on 21 October, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR)
An Afghan resident carries holy Quran books inside of the Imam Zaman Shiite mosque the day after a suicide attack during Friday evening prayers, in Kabul. (AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR)
An Afghan woman searches for relatives footwear the day after a suicide attack during Friday evening prayers, in Kabul on October 21, 2017. ( AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR)
First published: 21 October 2017, 15:30 IST