Four killed in blast near Kabul mosque

KABUL (HRNW) – A blast outside a mosque attended by Taliban members in the Afghan capital killed four people minutes after Friday prayers had ended, according to a hospital.

The explosion occurred near the entrance of Wazir Akbar Khan mosque, not far from the fortified former Green Zone that housed several embassies before the Taliban seized power in August last year.

The mosque is now often attended by senior Taliban commanders and fighters.

Italian non-governmental organisation Emergency, which operates a hospital in Kabul, said it had received “14 casualties” from the explosion.

“Four of them were already dead on arrival,” it said on Twitter.

Unverified images posted on social media showed a mangled car engulfed in fire on a road outside the mosque.

Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed the blast and “casualties”, but did not provide details.

A bomb ripped through the same mosque in 2020, killing its imam.