At least 11 people were killed on Thursday (June 8th) and 30 injured in an attack on a mosque in northern Afghanistan where the funeral of a governor assassinated on Tuesday was taking place, the interior ministry reported.
“Today around 11 a.m. the enemies of Islam blew up the Nabawi Mosque in the city of Faizabad (…)while a large number of compatriots participated in the ceremony in tribute to Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi”governor of Badakhshan province, detailed the Interior Ministry in a statement, condemning “brutality on the part of dishonored enemies”.
Security has improved dramatically since the Taliban seized power in August 2021 and ousted the US-backed government, ending two decades of insurgency. The Islamic State (IS) group, however, remains the biggest security threat to the government.
Hundreds of IS victims
IS claimed responsibility for the assassination of interim governor Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi on Tuesday. The man had been killed by a suicide bomber who rammed his vehicle with a car full of explosives. The driver was also killed and six other people injured.
Since the return to power of the Taliban, IS has killed and injured hundreds of people in several attacks, some of which have targeted foreigners or foreign interests with the aim of undermining the Taliban government.
IS and the Taliban share an austere Sunni Islamist ideology, but the former is fighting for the establishment of a global “caliphate”, while the latter wants to lead an independent Afghanistan.