A blast rocked a mosque in Afghanistan’s Herat on Friday, killing a high-profile pro-Taliban cleric in addition to numerous civilians. “Mujib Rahman Ansari, with a number of his guards and civilians, were killed on their manner in the direction of the mosque,” stated Herat’s police spokesperson Mahmood Rasoli. While the authentic did now no longer deliver a right estimate on the ones killed, Al Jazeera Media Network, mentioning unnamed sources, stated 14 human beings were killed.
The blast reportedly went off withinside the Guzargah Mosque withinside the western metropolis of Herat at some stage in Friday midday prayers, a time whilst Muslim locations of worship are especially crowded.
An AP report, mentioning an Afghan medic, stated at the least 18 human beings were killed even as 21 wounded. Mohammad Daud Mohammadi, an authentic on the Herat ambulance centre, stated ambulances transported 18 useless and 21 wounded to hospitals withinside the metropolis on Friday.
The Taliban’s spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, in a tweet expressed “sturdy condolences” over Ansari’s loss of life and stated his attackers could be punished.
Mujib Rahman Ansari had spoken strongly in defence of the Taliban at a huge accumulating of hundreds of students and elders organised with the aid of using the institution in past due June, condemning every body who stood towards their administration.
The Taliban say they’ve progressed safety withinside the united states in view that taking energy round a 12 months ago, however there were numerous blasts in latest months, a number of them concentrated on busy mosques at some stage in prayers. The United Nations has raised issues approximately the developing quantity of assaults and a few blasts were claimed with the aid of using a neighborhood department of the Islamic State.
There turned into no instantaneously declare of duty for Friday’s explosion.