#Kunduzbombblast#AfghanMosqueblast#ISISAfghanblast
Kabul: A suicide bomb attack on worshippers at a Shiite mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz killed at least 55 people on Friday, in the bloodiest assault since US forces left the country, reports AFP.
Scores more victims from the minority community were wounded in the blast, which was claimed by the Islamic State group.
This is seen as a ploy to further destabilise Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover.
The Islamic State group, bitter rivals of the Taliban, has repeatedly targeted Shiites in a bid to stir up sectarian violence in Sunni-majority Afghanistan.
In a statement released on its Telegram channels, the Islamic State said that an IS suicide bomber "detonated an explosive vest amid a crowd" of Shiite worshippers who had gathered inside the mosque.
The statement identified the bomber as "Muhammad al-Uyguri", implying he was a member of China's mainly-Muslim Uyghur minority.
Mulawi Dost Muhammad, Taliban security chief of Kunduz, accused the attackers of trying to foment trouble between Shiites and Sunnis, and insisted there was no dispute between the movement and the minority.
"We assure our Shiite brothers that in the future, we will provide security for them and that such problems will not happen to them," he said.
Residents of Kunduz, the capital of a province of the same name, told AFP the blast hit the mosque during Friday prayers, the most important of the week for Muslims.
One witness, Rahmatullah, said 300 to 400 worshippers were inside.
Graphic images shared on social media, and which could not immediately be verified, showed several bloodied bodies lying on the floor. Pictures showed plumes of smoke rising into the air over Kunduz.
Kunduz's location makes it a key transit point for economic and trade exchanges with Tajikistan.
It was the scene of fierce battles as the Taliban fought their way back into power this year.
Often targeted by Sunni extremists who view them as heretics, Shiite Muslims have suffered some of Afghanistan's most violent assaults, with rallies bombed, hospitals targeted and commuters ambushed.
Shiites make up roughly 20 percent of the Afghan population. Many of them are Hazara, an ethnic group that has been heavily persecuted in Afghanistan for decades.
Meanwhile, the US has condemned the suicide bomber attack on a mosque in northern Afghanistan that killed at least 46 people, saying it is an "enormous tragedy" and people of that country deserve better.
(Input from AFP, PTI)
