| 2021 Kunduz mosque bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of theIslamic State–Taliban conflict and the2021 Afghanistan attacks | |
  Kunduz Kunduz (Afghanistan) | |
 Interactive map of 2021 Kunduz mosque bombing | |
| Location | 36°43′41″N68°52′35″E / 36.72806°N 68.87639°E /36.72806; 68.87639 Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque,Kunduz,Afghanistan |
| Date | 8 October 2021 (2021-10-08) (UTC+04:30) |
| Target | Shia worshippers |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Deaths | 50+[1] |
| Injured | 143[1] |
| Perpetrators | Islamic State – Khorasan Province[2] |
| Motive | Taliban support for Chinese expulsion of Uyghurs, Chinese repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang |
On 8 October 2021, anISIS-Ksuicide bombing occurred at theShiaGozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque in theAfghan city ofKunduz.[3][4] Over 50 people were killed, and another 100 injured, but according to an estimate by theUnited Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, more than 100 people were killed and wounded.[5]
Since 2015, an affiliate of theIslamic State, theIslamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS–K), hascarried out attacks in Afghanistan. TheTaliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021; ISIS–K attacks since then include abombing at theKabul International Airport in which 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops were killed.[6]
The explosion took place during the weekly Friday noon prayer service at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque.[7] Witnesses stated that they were praying at the time of the explosion and noticed many bodies and blood on the floors as they were being evacuated from the scene.[8] Bodies of the dead and injured were taken to the nearby hospital where distraught family members waited at the entrance. After the attack, smoke filled the mosque building and rose over the city.[1]Photos and videos of the scene posted onsocial media showed blood splattered on the floor and walls of the mosque. The bodies of victims were also seen in uploaded medias.[9]
An initial assessment by theUnited Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan estimated over 100 individuals may have been killed. The local Kunduz Provincial Hospital reported 35 deaths and more than 50 injuries. Twenty fatalities were reported fromMédecins Sans Frontières.[10] According to a Taliban official, there were 100 victims, adding that most were dead.[11] The official death toll provided to media outlets is 50, and 143 others were injured.[12][1] Local health officials feared the death toll could rise to as high as 80.[2]
TheIslamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) has claimed responsibility for the blast, and confirmed via a Telegram channel that a suicide bomber had detonated the explosive vest in the crowded mosque during Friday prayers. According to the ISIS-K, the bomber was aUyghur who targeted bothShiites and theTaliban for their purported willingness to appease China by expelling Uyghurs.[2]Most militant Uyghur Muslims in western China and eastern Afghanistan are believed to belong to theTurkistan Islamic Party.[13]
TheUnited Nations has condemned the attack, adding that it is part of a string of attacks at places of worship. Less than a week earlier, an attack at theId Gah Mosque killed five people.[14]
The Taliban security chief in Kunduz released a statement, promising to provide security to Shiite Muslims, and that such an attack "would not happen again".[15] An inquiry into the blast was also underway, according to the deputy police chief for Kunduz province.[6]
Ned Price, thespokesperson for the United States Department of State said the Biden administration condemned the attack, adding that the "Afghan people deserve a future free of terror".[16]
On 15 October 2021, an ISIS–K suicide bomberkilled 65 people at a Shia mosque inKandahar.
A suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Afghanistan's northeastern Kunduz province on Friday, killing scores of worshippers .... Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack that state-run Bakhtar news agency said had killed 46 people and wounded 143.
The United Nations mission to Afghanistan said in a tweet the blast killed and wounded more than 100 people.
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