Suicide Bomber, Gunmen Attack Shiite Mosque in Kabul

TEHRAN (defapress) - A suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a Shiite mosque in an ongoing attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Friday, officials said.

News ID: 65726

Date: 25 August 2017 - 17:36

Gunshots could be heard and witnesses reported seeing worshippers smash windows to escape the Imam Zaman Mosque building.

More than 10 ambulances were at the scene and dozens of security forces have surrounded the mosque, in a residential area in the city's north.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid told AFP a suicide bomber "detonated himself inside the mosque", adding that there were casualties but could not confirm numbers.

People gathered outside the mosque, believed to have been crowded with Friday worshippers, were trying to call women and children trapped inside but their mobile phones were not responding, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Meanwhile, the Express reported that attackers have thrown grenades as they attacked the mosque, saying a suicide bomber detonated himself at the entrance of the mosque before other attackers ran inside.

It also quoted authorities as saying that 14 worshippers and two police officers have been killed in the attack.

Police who have now surrounded the building said the attack had caused "some casualties".

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Daesh (ISIL) terrorists group has attacked Shiite Muslim targets in Afghanistan in recent months.