Big Breaking : Bomb Blast in Kabul.
A bomb exploded in the entrance of a mosque in the Afghan capital on Sunday leaving a “number of civilians dead”, a Taliban spokesman said.The bomb targeted the sprawling Eidgah Mosque in Kabul, where a memorial service was being held for the mother of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who later tweeted the attack had claimed civilian lives. A prayer ceremony for Mujahid’s mother, who died last week, was being held at the mosque on Sunday afternoon, the spokesman had written on social media on Saturday, adding “all people and friends are invited to attend”. Ahmadullah, a shopkeeper nearby, told AFP: “I heard the sound of an explosion near the Eid Gah Mosque followed by guns firing.
“Just ahead of the blast the Taliban had blocked the road to hold a prayer ceremony for Zabihullah Mujahid’s mother in the Eid Gah Mosque.” AFP journalists in two locations in the capital also heard the blast and shooting.A spokesman from the interior ministry, Qari Sayed Khosti, told AFP: “Our initial information shows two civilians were killed and three wounded in the blast.”
It was the first such assault in the capital since late August, when an Islamic State-Khorasan Province suicide bomber killed around 200 people, including 13 U.S. soldiers, near the Kabul airport.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s assault on the Eid Gah mosque in the center of the city and it was apparently targeted at a gathering offering special prayers for Mujahid’s mother, who recently passed away. Qatar-based Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said Mujahid was “safe” along with other colleagues because the blast happened away from the place where they were located. IS maintains a strong presence in the eastern province of Nangarhar and considers the Taliban an enemy. It has claimed several attacks against them, including several killings in the provincial capital of Jalalabad.
Attacks in Kabul have so far been rare, but in recent weeks IS has shown signs it is expanding its footprint beyond the east and closer toward the capital. On Friday, Taliban fighters raided an IS hideout just north of Kabul in Parwan province. The raid came after an IS roadside bomb wounded four .
Ambulances carrying the wounded were seen rushing towards Kabul’s Emergency Hospital in the Shahr-e Naw area. The hospital said on Twitter that four patients were being treated
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