Kabul, Aug 18: At least three people were confirmed dead in a blast at a mosque and dozens wounded with the toll expected to rise, according to a hospital and a security official here in Afghanistan.
At least five of the injured were children, Italian non-governmental organization (NGO) Emergency, which operates a hospital in the capital here, where the bombing at the mosque during evening prayers on Wednesday was reported.
The toll in the blast is yet not clear hours after the incident. Media reports said the imam was also among the dead.
While a security official told Al Jazeera that 20 people were killed in the blast and 40 others wounded. One international news agency put the toll at 10 at least while another at 35.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed there were dead and wounded, but did not specify how many.
“The murderers of civilians and perpetrators … will soon be punished for their crimes,” Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted.
Police said there were multiple casualties, but also did not give a toll as well in the blast at the Siddiqui mosque in the city’s northwest.
“A blast happened inside a mosque … the blast has casualties, but the numbers are not clear yet,” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran was quoted by the media as saying.
