Source: BBC

A suicide bomber has killed at least 27 people at a Shia Muslim mosque in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Many more were wounded in the blast at an annual Shia ceremony at the Baqir ul Olum mosque in the west of the city.

The attacker arrived on foot and blew himself up among worshippers inside.

So-called Islamic State (IS) said that it was behind the blast. It is the latest of several recent attacks on Afghanistan’s Shia community claimed by the Sunni Muslim militant group.

Monday’s bombing took place at 12:30 local time (08:00 GMT) during a service to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and a Shia martyr.

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Eyewitnesses said the service was almost over when the bomb was detonated.

Police gave the figure of 27 dead, but the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 32 were killed and more than 50 injured. Some reports suggest a higher number of wounded.

IS said the attack was carried out by an IS “fighter” but gave no other details on its self-styled Amaq news agency.

“I was inside the mosque and the Mullah was reading the prayer,” Ewaz Ali, 50, who suffered minor injuries, told the Associated Press news agency.

“Suddenly a huge explosion happened, then everywhere was dark.”

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Another worshipper, Nadir Ali, told AFP news agency the blast had created a cloud of dust: “When the dust settled down, I saw the mosque was full of flesh and blood. I was injured in my waist and had to crawl out of the mosque.”

Local reports suggested children were among the dead.

There has not been a proper census for more than 40 years, but it is estimated that around 20% of the Afghan population are Shia Muslims – the rest are Sunni. Most Shia Muslims come from the Tajik and Hazara ethnic minorities.

They have been spared levels of sectarian violence seen in Pakistan and Iraq, but they have been targeted at least three times in recent months

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