IS-K Claims Responsibility for Deadly Afghan Blast

The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) group claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bomb attack on Friday that hit a mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz.

In a statement released on its Telegram channels, the jihadist group said that an IS suicide bomber “detonated an explosive vest amid a crowd” of Shiite worshippers who had gathered inside the mosque.

A suicide bomb attack on a mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz has killed at least 50 people, officials said, in the deadliest assault since US forces left. More than 100 people were injured in the blast in the northern city.

Local security officials were quoted by Tolo News as saying that more than 300 people were attending the prayers when the attack happened.

Reports revealed that Sunni Muslim extremists have targeted Shias who were attending the prayers at the mosque.

A resident of the area, Hussaindad Rezayee, revealed that he rushed to the mosque as soon as the explosion went off.

“I was busy at home doing construction work, and when the prayers started, the explosion happened,” he said. “I came to look for my relatives, the mosque was full.”