Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
27 killed in Afghanistan mosque blast
Kabul: A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least 27 people, an intelligence official told AFP.
The death toll is expected to rise after the blast, which occurred as prayers were being offered for an Islamic cleric, who was shot dead by suspected Taliban militants last weekend, the official said.
The death toll is expected to rise after the blast, which occurred as prayers were being offered for an Islamic cleric, who was shot dead by suspected Taliban militants last weekend, the official said.
"A suicide bomber detonated a bomb inside the crowd at the mosque. Twenty-seven bodies were evacuated from the mosque," the official said. Afghanistan remains wracked by violence three-and-a-half years after the fall of the hardline Islamic Taliban regime.
http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=13814085
A bomb explosion in a mosque killed about 20 persons in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Wednesday morning.
Those killed include a police chief of Kabul who were attending a mourning ceremony for the killed Muslim leader, a local radio reported.
The ceremony was held in a mosque at about 9:00 a.m. (local time) Wednesday to show condolence for Monday's killing of Muslim leader Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz in Kandahar.
About 20 persons were killed and more than 30 injured in the explosion, Radio Liberty reported.
The police chief of Kabul attending the ceremony in Kandahar has also been killed in the explosion, when the suicide attacker exploded the bomb beside him.
But a local witness Ahmad Shah told Xinhua the number of the dead was above 50.
As the chairman of Islamic Scholar Council, Fayaz is famous for his strong attitude against Taliban, frequently delivering speeches in the mosque about getting rid of Taliban from Afghanistan.
Ousted from power in 2001, Taliban has staged another surge of attacks against civilian and military targets in Afghanistan as the weather gets warmer here. More than 30 Afghan and US troops, aid workers as well as the militants have been killed in the troubled southern provinces over the past two weeks.
http://english.people.com.cn/200506/01/eng20050601_187946.html
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - An Afghan police chief was among at least 14 people killed in a suicide bomb blast at a mosque on Wednesday as mourners gathered to pay respects to an assassinated anti-Taliban cleric.
Kabul police chief Akram Khakreezwal was among the mourners at the mosque in the southern city of Kandahar.
"I saw bodies scattered, blood all over the place. Dead policemen were also lying there," shop owner Kalimullah told Reuters by telephone.
The suicide bomber was in police uniform, several survivors said.
Police and security officials said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber. At least 14 people were killed, including Khakreezwal, and 32 wounded.
Mourners had gathered for Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz who was killed on Sunday by two armed men riding a motorcycle as he was leaving his office in the heart of Kandahar city.
Fayaz served as the head of the Islamic scholar's council, a government appointed body, and criticised reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar at a recent gathering of clerics.
A Taliban spokesman said he knew nothing about the blast as none of his men had contacted him about it.
Afghanistan has not seen the sort of bloody rivalry between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shi'ites, which in neighbouring Pakistan has resulted in numerous bomb attacks on mosques.
http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=13814085
A bomb explosion in a mosque killed about 20 persons in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Wednesday morning.
Those killed include a police chief of Kabul who were attending a mourning ceremony for the killed Muslim leader, a local radio reported.
The ceremony was held in a mosque at about 9:00 a.m. (local time) Wednesday to show condolence for Monday's killing of Muslim leader Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz in Kandahar.
About 20 persons were killed and more than 30 injured in the explosion, Radio Liberty reported.
The police chief of Kabul attending the ceremony in Kandahar has also been killed in the explosion, when the suicide attacker exploded the bomb beside him.
But a local witness Ahmad Shah told Xinhua the number of the dead was above 50.
As the chairman of Islamic Scholar Council, Fayaz is famous for his strong attitude against Taliban, frequently delivering speeches in the mosque about getting rid of Taliban from Afghanistan.
Ousted from power in 2001, Taliban has staged another surge of attacks against civilian and military targets in Afghanistan as the weather gets warmer here. More than 30 Afghan and US troops, aid workers as well as the militants have been killed in the troubled southern provinces over the past two weeks.
http://english.people.com.cn/200506/01/eng20050601_187946.html
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - An Afghan police chief was among at least 14 people killed in a suicide bomb blast at a mosque on Wednesday as mourners gathered to pay respects to an assassinated anti-Taliban cleric.
Kabul police chief Akram Khakreezwal was among the mourners at the mosque in the southern city of Kandahar.
"I saw bodies scattered, blood all over the place. Dead policemen were also lying there," shop owner Kalimullah told Reuters by telephone.
The suicide bomber was in police uniform, several survivors said.
Police and security officials said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber. At least 14 people were killed, including Khakreezwal, and 32 wounded.
Mourners had gathered for Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz who was killed on Sunday by two armed men riding a motorcycle as he was leaving his office in the heart of Kandahar city.
Fayaz served as the head of the Islamic scholar's council, a government appointed body, and criticised reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar at a recent gathering of clerics.
A Taliban spokesman said he knew nothing about the blast as none of his men had contacted him about it.
Afghanistan has not seen the sort of bloody rivalry between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shi'ites, which in neighbouring Pakistan has resulted in numerous bomb attacks on mosques.
For more information:
http://www.reuters.co.za/locales/c_newsArt...
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$170.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network
The police chief of the capital Kabul, General Akram Khakraizwall, was among the dead, Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told Agence France Presse (AFP).
"Thirty-six people have also been wounded. It was a suicide attack by the enemies of Afghanistan and Islam. The investigation into the case has started," he added.
The explosion occurred when a self-bomber in a police uniform blew himself up among a crowd of mourners gathering in the Maulvi Abdul Rab mosque to pay respects an anti-Taliban scholar.
"A man in military uniform approached Khakraizwall and detonated the bomb which killed Khakraizwall, his bodyguards and people around him," an Afghan intelligence official said.
"There were some 50 to 60 people inside the mosque when the explosion occurred. This was a very big explosion and there is blood everywhere in the mosque and outside it," an AFP correspondent said.
"Human limbs are scattered all over the mosque compound."
The attack was the worst in Afghanistan this year and one of the most serious since the ouster of Taliban by US-led forced more than three and half years ago.
Washington is currently leading18 , 000US-led troops in the country, including about16 , 000Americans.
Funeral
The explosion occurred inside the mosque in the center of the city, during the funeral of Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz, who was gunned down Sunday, May29 , by two gunmen riding a motorcycle as he was leaving his office.
Fayaz, a close supporter of US-backed President Hamid Karzai, served as the head of the Islamic scholar's council, a government-appointed body, and criticized Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar at a recent gathering.
A Taliban spokesman, however, said he knew nothing about the blast as none of his men had contacted him about it.
Kandahar has been hit by previous bombings, including twin roadside blasts on March 17 that killed five people and wounded more than 30 during a visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the country.
On Monday, May30 , up to 16 militants and four police officers were killed in a series of attacks in southern Afghanistan.
More than18 , 000US-led troops, including about16 , 000Americans, remain in the Muslim country since they toppled the Taliban regime more than three and half years ago.
http://islamonline.org/English/News/2005-06/01/article01.shtml