IS claims responsibility for Afghanistan explosions that killed 31

AFGHANISTAN: An explosion claimed by the Islamic State (IS) at a Shia mosque in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday killed at least 31 people, a health official said, one of a series of blasts around the country.

A separate blast led to at least 11 more casualties in Kunduz, another northern Afghan city, according to a provincial health official.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Mazar-e-Sharif attack, according to a statement on the group’s Telegram channel.

The explosions took place during the Islamic holy month of Ramazan and two days after blasts tore through a high school in a predominantly Shia Hazara area in western Kabul, killing at least six.

“A blast happened in 2nd district inside a Shia mosque,” Mohammad Asif Wazeri, the spokesman for the Taliban commander in Mazar-e-Sharif said.

Zia Zendani, the spokesman for the provincial health authority, said 31 people had been killed and 32 wounded in the blast.

An Interior Ministry Spokesman said a roadside blast had targeted a van of military mechanics in Kunduz and said school students were among the wounded. He added another roadside blast in the capital, Kabul, had wounded three, including a child.

– THE TELEGRAPH INDIA