MAZAR-I-SHARIF // At least 14 Shiites were killed on Wednesday in a powerful blast at a mosque in northern Afghanistan, the second deadly attack on the minority in as many days during Ashura commemorations.
“The explosion happened at the gate of the Shiite mosque in the centre of Balkh district,” said the provincial governor’s spokesman Munir Ahmad Farhad, adding that 28 people were also injured in the attack.
The blast came as ISIL claimed responsibility for twin attacks in Kabul on Tuesday that also targeted Shiites, killing up to 18 people and wounding dozens.
Witnesses said gunmen entered the Karte Sakhi shrine near Kabul University late on Tuesday, firing indiscriminately on men, women and children as they tried to flee. The interior ministry said one was wearing a suicide vest.
At the same time, another attacker entered a nearby mosque and took hostages as they were commemorating Ashura, the ministry said.
The United Nations called the attack an atrocity and put the toll at 18, although the interior ministry later said it was 16.
Ashura, which took place on Wednesday, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, who was assassinated in 680AD. His death laid the foundation for the Shiite sect.
The threat of attacks on Shiites in Afghanistan had been considered particularly serious during Ashura, and many foreign embassies in Kabul had restricted staff movements.
In 2011 about 80 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when a suicide bomber struck a gathering of Shiites in Kabul during Ashura.
On Wednesday grieving worshippers in Kabul described trying to shelter their children against a hail of gunfire during Tuesday’s attacks.
One mother spoke of a gunman who was “killing everyone”. She was shot in the leg as she tried to protect her child.
Another witness, Ali Hussain, said attackers “indiscriminately shot everyone they faced. They wouldn’t even spare women and children”.
* Agence France-Presse