TEHRAN — At least 68 people have been killed in an explosion at a mosque in the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, according to Al Jazeera.

The assault came just a week after a suicide attack on Shiite worshippers at a mosque in the northern city of Kunduz, which was claimed by the Islamic State group of Khorasan, known as ISIS-K. 

There has not yet been any claim of responsibility for the assault in Kandahar, the spiritual hub of the Taliban.

"Our initial information shows it was a suicide bomber who blew up himself up inside the mosque. We have launched an investigation to find out more," a local Taliban official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Local medical sources said that they have spotted over 15 ambulances rushing in and out of hospitals. Of course, up until this article is being written, this has not yet been confirmed. 

An Afghan doctor told AFP that they are “overwhelmed.”

An eyewitness told AFP he heard three explosions, one at the main door of the mosque, another at a southern area, and a third where worshippers wash before their prayers.

The Fatemiyeh mosque in Kandahar was hosting many Afghan Shiites who were saying their Friday prayers, but were subjected to tragic death by people who work hard to create division among the brotherly Sunni and Shiite sects. Graphic images posted to social media, which could not be immediately verified, showed bodies lying on the floor of the mosque. 

“Firing started after we ended the prayers. Then two or three explosions took place,” said local resident Ahmadullah to AFP. 

Taliban’s interior ministry spokesman tweeted on Friday, “We are saddened to learn that an explosion took place in a mosque of the Shiite brotherhood in the first district of Kandahar city in which a number of our compatriots were martyred and wounded.”

It seems that the enemies of the Islamic Ummah are planning to sow new seditions in an Afghanistan that has not yet found its way. 

Once again, the hands of the enemies of Islam and Muslims came out of the hands of the criminal Takfiri terrorists and killed another group of oppressed people during Friday prayers.

The Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement regarding the tragic explosion calling it “a crime against humanity.”

The statement said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the terrorist attack by Takfiri terrorists on the Fatemieh Mosque in Kandahar, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of a large number of participants in Friday prayers.”

It also called for patience by the bereaved families and urgent healing for the wounded of this “crime against humanity,” and once again warned against divisive conspiracies and emphasized the need for unity of Shiites and Sunnis and the denial of violence and extremism in the name of Islam.

“This tragic incident, and the tragic events of the past, including the previous attack on worshippers in Kunduz, further highlight the need to increase surveillance and redouble the protection of Shiite and Sunni religious centers and other gatherings in Afghanistan,” the statement highlighted. 

SA/PA