One Killed, Three Injured in Explosion outside Mazar-Sharif Mosque in Afghanistan

IQNA – At least one person was killed and three others were injured after a blast has occurred outside a Shia mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, northern Afghanistan.

The explosion happened at 8:20 AM local time near the Sedokan Mosque, which belongs to the Shia Hazara community.

According to witnesses, a woman was killed in the blast, Amu TV reported.

They said the blast was caused by a pre-planted explosive devices in the area.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast and local Taliban officials have yet to comment on the incident.

The area has been the target of terrorist attacks in the past too.

In 2022, it was the target of a suicide bomb attack in which tens of people were killed or injured.

Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital of Afghanistan’s northern Balkh Province.

Shia Muslims form a minority in Afghanistan that is mostly drawn from the country’s Hazara community.

The community, the poorest of the country’s ethnic groups, accounts for about 22 percent of Afghanistan’s population. Its members have been targeted in several large-scale kidnappings and killings, including by the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) Takfiri terrorist group, across Afghanistan in the past.

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