At least 25 people have been killed and 40 wounded after a suicide bomber and a gunman stormed a busy Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan, local officials and witnesses have said.

A witness told the Reuters news agency that people were performing Friday prayers at the Khawaja Hassan mosque, in Gardez city, Paktia province, when a man detonated his explosives.

A second attacker is reported to have opened fire.

“Emergency teams have collected 25 bodies from the mosque premises and 40 people have been rushed to hospital,” said Abdullah Hazrat, a senior government official who was at the blast site.

The attack comes as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks.

Shia Muslims have been targeted by groups affiliated to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also known as ISIS) that has emerged as a force in recent years.

According to the UN, a total of 1,692 people have been killed in the first half of 2018, with another 3,430 people wounded – the highest figure since it began keeping records in 2009.


https://globalsentinelng.com/2018/08/03/suicide-bomb-blast-on-shiite-mosque-kills-25/