The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for the recent explosion that killed at least 11 people inside a mosque in northern Badakhshan province during the funeral of the Taliban’s provincial deputy governor, said Reuters.
The explosion occurred inside the Nabavi Mosque in the capital Faizabad around 10:30 am on Thursday when a large number of people had gathered for the memorial service of Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, Taliban’s deputy governor for Badakhshan, who was killed in a car bombing on Tuesday. The attack on Ahmadi was also claimed by ISKP.
Among those killed were Haji Akram Khan, a local Taliban official, and Zia ul-Haq Abuzar, a member of Jamiat-e-Islami, and more than 30 others were wounded in the explosion.
However, one source told KabulNow that at least 14 people were killed and 50 others wounded.
Many condemned the attack. Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban’s spokesperson, in a tweet, called it an act of the “enemies of Islam”.
The National Resistance Front (NRF), an armed anti-Taliban group, and Salahuddin Rabbani, the leader of Jamiat-e-Islami, stated that the Thursday explosion was a result of internal rifts within the Taliban leadership ranks.
Earlier in March, the ISKP targeted the office of the Taliban’s governor in northern Balkh province killing the group’s governor Mohammad Dawood Muzammil and two others.
