The blast took place in the area of Serahi Alaudin in the city, the private Afghan channel TOLO News reported, citing an eyewitness.
Emergency, a non-governmental organization that offers free medical and surgical treatment to Afghan civilians, tweeted that 20 people were treated at the hospital after the blast.
At least two UN officials and their families were at the Khalifa Sahib mosque at the time of the attack, a spokesman for the UN secretary-general said on Friday.
Farhan Haq said he condemned the attack with “the strongest words”, calling it “the latest in a series of indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets”.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Friday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also said he condemned the attack, days before the end of Ramadan.
“We strongly condemn today’s blast at a mosque in the 6th district of Kabul. “Such brutal killings during this post are the work of circles that have nothing to do with Islam or the country,” the Mujahideen wrote on Twitter on Friday.
“The Islamic Emirate expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims. The perpetrators of these crimes will soon be found and punished, God willing,” he added.
Weeks of deadly attacks
A series of deadly bombings aimed mainly at Khazar Shiites community has rocked several Afghan cities in the past two weeks.
Last week, 33 people were killed and dozens injured in a blast at a mosque in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province during Friday prayers, according to Taliban spokesman Mujahid.
The blast followed other attacks in recent days, one in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif and another in Kunduz, along with multiple explosions earlier in the week at a high school and education center in western Kabul.
Most of the recent attacks were carried out by the ISIS partner group and Taliban rival ISIS-Khorsan (ISIS-K). Friday’s bombing has not yet been carried out by any group.
CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Nicolas Karim and Hannah Richie contributed to this report.
Add Comment