At least four people have been confirmed dead and 10 injured after an explosion occurred near a mosque on Friday in Afghanistan’s capital and a diplomatic quarter of Kabul. 

14 casualties were reported by the Italian Emergency Hospital in Kabul. It was also reported that four people were dead on arrival.

Mosques have been a frequent target for attacks. In August of this year, an explosion occurred at a mosque north of Kabul, resulting in 21 people killed. Just two months before that in June, another explosion in a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz killed 12 people and wounded 30, taking place during Friday prayers as well. 

Kabul police chief spokesman, Khalid Zadran, confirmed that worshippers were the target of the blast as they were leaving the Wazir Akbar Khan mosque following Friday prayers. The mosque was a target in 2020 in a bomb that left two people dead, including the mosque’s prayer leader.

Interior Minister spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor commented that the bomb detonated on the main road near the mosque, but the motive behind it is still being investigated, adding that police teams were at the site.