At least 16 people were murdered in two Afghan towns on Thursday as a result of bomb attacks. According to the Islamic State (IS), 12 people were counted at a Shiite mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of bombings in Afghanistan has decreased since the Taliban regained dominance in August, but the jihadist and Sunni IS organization has claimed a large number of them because they are often directed at Shiite targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On social media, gruesome photographs of victims being brought to medical facilities from the Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif have been shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Blood and terror are everywhere,” said Ahmad Zia Zindani, a spokesman for the Balkh province public health department, adding that “people were shouting” while looking for information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He claimed the blast killed 12 individuals and injured 58 others, with 32 of them in critical condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Victims’ relatives were flocking to city hospitals in search of their loved ones.\u201dMany residents came to donate blood as well,” Zindani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least four people were killed and 18 others were injured in a blast in Kunduz, which police official Obaidullah Abedi claimed AFP was caused by a bicycle bomb targeting a truck transporting Taliban mechanics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Shiite Hazara population in Afghanistan, which accounts for 10 to 20% of the country’s 38 million people, has long been a target of the Islamic State, which considers them heretics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The caliphate’s warriors were able to get a booby-trapped bag” into the mosque and detonate it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least 16 people were murdered in two Afghan towns on Thursday as a result<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":14953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[215],"tags":[407],"class_list":["post-14952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","tag-afghan-cities"],"yoast_head":"\n