During a memorial ceremony on Thursday for the Taliban provincial deputy governor who was recently assassinated in an attack by the Islamic State group, a bomb explosion occurred at a mosque in Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province.
The blast took place in the provincial capital of Faizabad, resulting in the death of at least 11 worshippers and causing over 30 others to sustain injuries, as confirmed by the Afghan interior ministry, which is led by the Taliban, through a tweet. Moazuddin Ahmadi, the head of the local information office, also informed Voice of America (VOA) over the phone that a former Taliban police chief from the nearby northern Baghlan province was among the deceased.
Witnesses described the powerful explosion causing significant casualties among the crowded worshippers inside the mosque, raising concerns about a potentially higher number of fatalities.
According to a leading Afghan news channel called TOLO news, around 15 bodies and approximately 50 wounded individuals were transported to the main hospital in Faizabad.
The incident follows the assassination of Badakhshan's deputy governor, Molvi Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, earlier this week. Ahmadi was targeted by a suicide bomber who drove an explosives-laden car into his vehicle while he was on his way to work in Faizabad. The resulting blast led to the deaths of Ahmadi and his driver, with 10 people sustaining injuries.
The responsibility for the car bomb attack was claimed by the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group, known as Islamic State Khorasan. This mountainous Afghan province shares borders with China, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.
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