Massive blast at mosque in Aghanistan’s Herat kills 18, including pro-Taliban cleric

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Herat,
Sep
02:
An
explosion
tore
through
a
crowded
mosque
in
western
Afghanistan
on
Friday,
killing
at
least
18
people,
including
a
prominent
cleric
close
to
the
Taliban,
Taliban
officials
and
a
local
medic
said.
At
least
21
people
were
hurt.

The
explosion
in
the
city
of
Herat
left
the
courtyard
of
the
Guzargah
Mosque
littered
with
bodies,
the
ground
stained
with
blood,
video
from
the
scene
showed.
Men
shouted,
“God
is
great,”
in
shock
and
horror.

The
bomb
went
off
during
Friday
noon
prayers,
when
mosques
are
full
of
worshippers.

Among
the
dead
was
Mujib-ul
Rahman
Ansari,
a
prominent
cleric
who
was
known
across
Afghanistan
for
his
criticism
of
the
country’s
Western-backed
governments
over
the
past
two
decades.
Ansari
was
seen
as
close
to
the
Taliban,
who
seized
control
over
Afghanistan
a
year
ago
as
foreign
forces
withdrew.

His
death
was
confirmed
by
the
chief
Taliban
spokesman,
Zabihullah
Mujahid.
Just
before
the
bombing,
Ansari
had
been
meeting
in
another
part
of
the
city
with
the
Taliban
government’s
deputy
prime
minister,
Mullah
Abdul
Ghani
Baradar,
who
was
on
a
visit
to
Herat.
He
had
rushed
from
the
meeting
to
the
mosque
to
get
to
the
noon
prayers,
an
aide
to
Baradar
said
in
a
tweet
mourning
the
cleric.

6
dead
due
to
a
blast
in
a
firecracker
trader’s
house
in
Bihar

Ambulances
transported
18
bodies
and
21
people
wounded
from
the
blast
to
hospitals
in
Herat,
said
Mohammad
Daud
Mohammadi,
an
official
at
the
Herat
ambulance
center,
There
was
no
immediate
claim
of
responsibility
for
Friday’s
blast.

Last
month,
a
bombing
at
a
mosque
in
the
capital
Kabul
targeted
and
killed
a
pro-Taliban
cleric
in
an
attack
claimed
by
the
Islamic
State
group.
IS
has
waged
a
bloody
campaign
of
attacks
on
Taliban
targets
and
minority
groups,
particularly
Shiites
whom
the
extremist
Sunni
IS
considers
heretics.
It
has
frequently
hit
mosques
with
suicide
attacks
during
Friday
prayers.

Herat’s
Guzargah
Mosque,
where
Ansari
has
long
been
the
preacher,
draws
followers
of
Sunni
Islam,
the
dominant
stream
in
Afghanistan
that
is
also
followed
by
the
Taliban.

Ansari
was
for
years
a
thorn
in
the
side
of
Afghanistan’s
pro-Western
government.
In
his
sermons
at
the
Guzargah,
he
urged
his
many
supporters
to
carry
out
protests
against
the
governments
and
preached
against
women’s
rights.