Locals say a bomb ripped through a minority Shiite mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing and injuring a "large number" of people. The nature of the incident in Pol-i-Khomri, Baghlan province's capital, was not immediately known, but the Taliban administration verified it. Speaking with AFP, deputy government spokesman Bilal Karimi stated: "I condemn it strongly, but currently I don't have all the information."
According to witnesses, the blast occurred as Shiite worshippers gathered for Friday prayers at the city's Imam Zaman mosque.
"There was a terrible sound. After the explosion, a large number of martyrs and injured people were transferred to the hospital. The situation is not good at all," Abdul Hamid informed AFP.
Another local resident Saeed Daud stated: "When I was at home, I heard a huge explosion. Now the sirens of ambulances are being heard, and the injured are being taken to the hospital."
He said that local officials were directing people to leave the region.
Security has greatly improved since the Taliban retook control in August 2021, deposing the US-backed government.
However, the regional chapter of the Islamic State (IS) organisation remains a threat and has previously targeted Shiites whom they regard as heretics.
Although the Taliban and the Islamic State share an austere Sunni philosophy, Kabul's new leadership have sworn to safeguard ethnic and religious minorities.
Instead of the Taliban's more modest objective of controlling an independent Afghanistan with official relations to other nations, IS is crusading to build a global "caliphate" -- Islamic dominion.
Since the Taliban's return to power, IS has carried out assaults on diplomatic missions and governmental buildings in Kabul, as well as the assassination of two province governors.
According to the United Nations, they are also responsible for the September 2022 bombing of a study hall in a minority Shiite suburb of the city, which killed at least 53 people, including 46 girls and young women.
IS aims to "provoke sectarian conflict and destabilise the region," and has carried out more than 190 suicide attacks since 2022, injuring or killing over 1,300 people, according to a UN Security Council assessment issued in May.
The presence of Islamic State members in Afghanistan has also heightened tensions with neighbouring Pakistan, which alleges they are crossing the border to attack targets on its country.