The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of the Khalifa Sahib Mosque, west of the capital, in the early afternoon, according to Besmullah Habib, a deputy interior minister. The attack came as worshipers at a Sunni mosque gathered after Friday prayers for a church known as Zikr – an act of remembrance practiced by some Muslims but considered heretical by many Sunni groups. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am Sayed Fazil Agha, the head of the mosque, said someone believed to be a suicide bomber had joined them at the ceremony and detonated explosives. “Black smoke rose and spread everywhere, corpses were everywhere,” he said, adding that his nephews were among the dead. “I survived, but I lost my loved ones.” A local resident, Mohammad Sabir, said he had seen people being loaded onto ambulances. “The explosion was very strong. “I thought my drums were cracked,” he said. The emergency hospital in central Kabul said it was treating 21 patients injured in the blast and two dead on arrival. A nurse at another hospital, who declined to be named, said she had admitted several people in critical condition. A health source said hospitals had so far arrested at least 30 bodies in total. Dozens of Afghan civilians have been killed in bombings in recent weeks, some of which have been claimed by Islamic State (IS). The latest attack took place on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, when most Muslims fast, and before the religious holiday of Eid next week. Taliban leaders say they have secured the country since taking power in August and largely eliminated the local branch of the Islamic State. However, international officials and analysts say the risk of a resurgence of militants remains. Many of the attacks targeted the Shiite minority, but Sunni mosques have also been attacked. Bombs exploded on two trucks carrying Shiite Muslims in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday, killing at least nine people. Last Friday, an explosion rocked a Sunni mosque during Friday prayers in the city of Kunduz, killing 33 people.
