Afghanistan: Blasts in Nangarhar province mosque kill 62
Fri 18 October 2019:
At least 62 people were killed by a blast inside an Afghan mosque during Friday prayers, according to officials, a day after the United Nations said violence in the country had reached “unacceptable” levels.
A Taliban spokesman called the attack a “major crime”, apparently denying responsibility and blaming it on the Islamic State group or government forces.
Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for Nangarhar’s governor, said 62 people had been killed by the explosions, which rocked the building in the province’s Haska Mena district during Friday prayers.
The attack occurred in Haska Mina district, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the provincial capital Jalalabad.
Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the provincial council in Nangarhar, told Reuters news agency that more than 100 others had been wounded in the incident and the death toll was likely to increase.
“The number of casualties may rise as the rescue team and people are working to bring out the bodies from the rubble,” Qaderi said.
The figures – 1,174 deaths and 3,139 wounded from July 1 until September 30 this year – represent a 42 percent increase over the same period last year. Some 41 percent of the casualties were women and children.
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