Broken glass and dust covered the red carpet, soaked in the blood of the men, women and children. The explosion was so strong that it shattered windows on nearby buildings. In a statement on its website late Friday, IS said claimed its fighter Abu Ammar al-Turkmani “detonated his explosive vest among the apostates” during Friday prayers in the Imam Zaman mosque in western Kabul.
Inside the mosque after attack
Another suicide bombing in western Ghor province struck a Sunni mosque, also during Friday prayers, killing 33 people. In the second attack the target apparently was a local commander, Abdul Ahed, a former warlord who has sided with the government. Seven of his bodyguards were also killed in the bombing. The attacks were the latest in a devastating week that saw Taliban attacks kill scores across the country. The Interior Ministry released a statement Saturday saying it was investigating the attack in Kabul’s Dashte-e-Barchi neighborhood. It said the assailant blew himself up as worshippers began their prayers. The majority of people are ethnic Hazaras, who are mostly Shiite Muslims. Hours after the suicide bomb, the Taliban fired two rockets at the headquarters of NATO’s Resolute Support mission in the heavily fortified diplomatic quarter of Kabul.
