At least 28 killed in Afghan mosque blast during Friday prayers
Jalalabad, Oct 18: At least 28 people were killed and dozens wounded by a blast inside an Afghan mosque during Friday prayers, officials said, a day after the United Nations said violence in the country had reached "unacceptable" levels.
The explosion, which witnesses said collapsed the mosque's roof, took place in eastern Nangarhar province and wounded at least 55 people, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.
He said the dead were "all worshippers" at the mosque in Haska Mina district, roughly 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the provincial capital Jalalabad.
Dr Zarghoon, an official at the government hospital in Haska Mina, gave a slightly higher toll of 33 dead and 60 wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in Nangarhar province.
Witnesses said the roof of the mosque had fallen through after the "loud" explosion, the nature of which was not immediately clear.
Some 350 worshippers were inside at the time, Omar Ghorzang, a local resident, told AFP.
"Dozens of people were killed and wounded and were taken in several ambulances," Haji Amanat Khan, a 65-year-old local resident, told AFP.
The blast came after the UN released a new report on Thursday saying an "unprecedented" number of civilians were killed or wounded in Afghanistan from July to September.
The report, which also charts violence throughout 2019 so far, underscores how "Afghans have been exposed to extreme levels of violence for many years" despite promises by all sides to "prevent and mitigate harm to civilians".
It also noted the absurdity of the ever-increasing price paid by civilians given the widespread belief that the war in Afghanistan cannot be won by either side.
"Civilian casualties are totally unacceptable," said the UN's special representative in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, adding they demonstrate the importance of talks leading to a ceasefire and a permanent political settlement.
The figures -- 1,174 deaths and 3,139 injured from July 1 until September 30 -- represent a 42 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The UN laid most of the blame for the spike at the feet of "anti-government elements" such as the Taliban, who have been carrying out a bloody insurgency in Afghanistan for more than 18 years.
July alone saw more casualties than in any other month on record since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) began documenting the violence in 2009.
The first six months of 2019 had seen casualties drop slightly compared to previous years.
But the violence has surged so far in the third quarter that it yanked the overall total for the year back on par with the bloodiest since NATO withdrew its combat forces at the end of 2014.
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Pakistan forces kill 67 Afghan Taliban personnel in overnight operations: Minister
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan security forces killed another 67 Afghan Taliban personnel in overnight operations, repulsing their attacks at 16 locations along the southwestern border early Tuesday, officials said.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar provided updates on the ongoing Operation Ghazab lil Haq, launched on Feb 26 in response to the Afghan Taliban raids.
Tarar said that 40 Afghan Taliban personnel were killed in overnight operations in the border region along the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Physical attack was attempted at one place, while a fire raid was conducted on 12 locations, which were all repulsed without any loss of life,” he said in an update posted on X.
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“At least 40 Afghan Taliban were killed in the overnight operations in KP,” he said, adding that “follow-up” operations continued.
Separately, the Afghan Taliban resorted to physical attack from across the border on 16 locations in Northern Balochistan in Qilla Saifullah, Noshki and Chaman districts while engaging Pakistan troops on 25 locations in a fire raid.
“The attacks at all the locations were repulsed with Afghan Taliban suffering 27 killed and scores injured,” he said.
The minister also said that one soldier of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan North was killed while five soldiers were injured.
On Monday, the minister said in a statement that Pakistani security forces killed 435 Afghan Taliban combatants and another 630 of them were injured. He said that 188 tanks and armoured vehicles were destroyed, 31 Afghan posts were captured and 51 locations across Afghanistan were successfully targeted in air strikes.
Meanwhile, state-run PTV reported that the Pakistan armed forces successfully conducted an air operation in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, destroying the Khogani base.
“Fitna al-Khawarij and Afghan Taliban face massive setbacks on every front after unprovoked aggression,” PTV reported, citing sources.
It further reported that security sources said Operation Ghadab-ul-Haq is still ongoing and will continue until its objectives are achieved.
