Blasts in Afghanistan mosque kill at least 62, wound more than 100 – World

Explosions at a mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers killed at least 62 men who had gathered to worship, local officials said.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, said there were multiple explosions of explosives placed inside the mosque in the Jawdara area of ​​the Haska Mena district.

The roof of the mosque had fallen completely.

Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the Nangarhar provincial council, while waiting for an increase in the number of victims, said more than 100 people had been injured.

Malik Mohammadi Gul Shinwari, a tribal elder from the area, said the mosque had completely collapsed.

"It was a heartbreaking scene that I witnessed with my eyes," Shinwari said, adding that 32 bodies and dozens of wounded have been transported from the scene of the explosion.

Tezab Khan, a member of the local police who was on duty in the area, said: “I could hear the Mullah he was preaching and suddenly his voice was silenced with a bang. When I arrived at the scene, people were trying to take out the bodies and injuries that were trapped under the fallen ceiling. "

The Jawdara area is controlled by Afghan security forces.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the explosions so far. The fighters of the Taliban group and the militant Islamic State (IS) are actively operating in parts of Nangarhar that share a border with Pakistan in the east.

A United Nations report on civilian victims recorded 4,313 civilians killed and injured in the last three months.

Pakistan condemns bombing

Pakistan "strongly" condemned bomb explosions in the Nangarhar mosque, calling them "an act of senseless terrorism."

"We share the pain of the bereaved families and offer our deepest condolences and condolences for their loss in this senseless act of terrorism," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and is in solidarity with the government and people of Afghanistan in their fight against terrorism," the press release added.

With additional reports of Naveed Siddiqui in Islamabad.