Dozens killed in Afghanistan mosque bombing

According to a local spokesman, the bomb killed 62 people and wounded dozens during the prayers in the Afghanistan mosque on Friday.

Witnesses said the building collapsed due to an explosion in eastern South Garhar.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

An explosion occurred after the United Nations announced that civilian deaths worldwide reached unprecedented levels during the summer.

According to the United Nations, 1,174 civilians died between July and September, the most deadly quarter since the UN record began before October.

Meanwhile, a BBC study attempting to record all the murders during the month of August found that a fifth of all those who lost their lives were civilians.

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Local governor spokesman Atalullah Khogyani said the BBC killed 62 people and wounded 36 in Friday's attack.

The temple is located in the Haska Mina district, about 50 km from the provincial capital Jalalabad.

Witnesses reported hearing a big explosion before the opening of the mosque's roof. Many explosives are believed to have been used, according to Afghanistan's Tolo News.

Elder Malik Mohammadi Gul Shinwari told the Reuters news agency that "it was a heartbreaking scene I witnessed with my eyes."

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Local police officer Tezab Khan can hear the sound of Mullah preaching, but "suddenly his voice boomed."

"When I got to the scene, people tried to take the body out and hurt people trapped under the fallen roof," he added.

Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the local council in Nangarhar, warned that the death toll will increase as people "try to get the body out of the rubble."

It is not clear who performed the attack. The Taliban denied that they were behind the bombings.

Taliban and Islamic state armed groups are known to be active in the region.

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According to the United Nations, anti-government forces have been responsible for most of civilian deaths since the beginning of 2019, when violence surged during the summer.

This is different from the first six months of the year when Afghanistan and the US military killed more civilians.

According to UN data released Thursday, 41{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} of all people who died since January were women and children.