Taliban pledge to step up safety at Shi’ite mosques after Friday’s assault By Reuters

KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban authorities pledged to step up safety at Shi’ite mosques after the second Islamic State assault in per week on worshippers killed greater than 40 individuals within the Afghan metropolis of Kandahar on Friday.

The hardline Sunni group Islamic State claimed duty for the assault on the Fatima mosque in Kandahar which noticed a gaggle of suicide bombers shoot their manner into the mosque earlier than blowing themselves up among the many worshippers.

A well being official stated the casualty toll from the assault stood at 41 lifeless and 70 wounded however the toll might nonetheless rise additional. “Among the wounded are in a vital situation and we try to switch them to Kabul,” he stated.

The top of Kandahar police stated items can be assigned to guard the Shi’ite mosques which have to this point been guarded by native volunteer forces with particular permission to hold weapons.

“Sadly they may not defend this space and in future we are going to assign particular safety guards for the safety of mosques and Madrasas,” he stated in a press release posted on Twitter (NYSE:) by a Taliban spokesman.

The assault on the Fatima mosque, the biggest Shi’ite mosque in Kandahar, also referred to as the Imam Bargah mosque, got here per week after the same assault on a mosque within the northern metropolis of Kunduz, which killed as many as 80 individuals.

Assaults on Shi’ite mosques and targets related to the Hazara ethnic minority, who make up the most important Shi’ite group in Afghanistan, have been common occurrences below the previous Western-backed authorities.

There was deep shock because the assaults have continued because the Taliban seized energy in August, tarnishing the motion’s declare to have introduced peace to Afghanistan after many years of battle.

For the reason that takeover, Islamic State has performed dozens of operations, from small scale assaults on Taliban targets to large-scale operations reminiscent of Friday’s suicide bombing, killing scores of civilians.