3 Dead, 15 Wounded in Blast Targeting Mosque in Afghanistan
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An explosion targets a mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, killing and wounding several people.
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The blast occurred in the Spin Ghar district where the Islamic State in Afghanistan has been active since the Taliban seized power.
At least three people were killed and 15 wounded Friday by a blast at a mosque in Afghan province Nangarhar, a hospital doctor reported.
The blast occurred in the Spin Ghar district of the eastern province near the border with Pakistan, where the Islamic State in Afghanistan has been active since the Taliban seized power in August.
A Taliban official confirmed that the blast happened "during Friday prayers inside a mosque in Spin Ghar district. There are casualties and fatalities."
In a statement, the regional governor's office announced that two suspects have been detained for their link to the blast, and added that the investigations are underway.
The IS in Afghanistan, which first appeared in Nangarhar in 2015, has claimed responsibility for a series of bloody attacks that have taken place in the country since the Taliban returned to power.
Walli Mohammed, a local elder and activist, told AFP a bomb appeared to have been hidden in a loudspeaker near the imam's podium.
When the speaker was switched on to sound the azaan -- the call to begin the prayer ritual -- the device detonated, he said.
