Afghanistan: 50 people killed in suicide bomb blast in Kunduz mosque

Another instance of an assault in Afghanistan has occurred as of late following the takeover of the Taliban and the collapse of the western-backed Afghan government. Last week, another suicide bombing occurred at a Shiite Mosque in Kunduz, killing 50 people.

AFP reports that a suicide bombing at a mosque in Kunduz occurred Friday last week. 50 people were killed in the blast, making it the bloodiest assault since the withdrawal of the US and allied forces from the country. Many other worshippers were left injured from the impact. Residents of Kunduz have said that the blast hit a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers, which is the most important time of the week for Muslims.

While the suicide bombing has not yet been linked to anyone, the incident appears to be designed to destabilize Afghanistan while undermining the insurgent group’s control of the war-torn country.

The ISIS-K extremist group, who are rivals of the Taliban, has been known to target Shiite Muslims in an effort to incite sectarian violence in predominantly Sunni Muslim Afghanistan. The incident was confirmed as a suicide bombing by the director of culture and information in Kunduz, Matiullah Rohani.

A source at the Kunduz Provincial Hospital also told AFP that 35 fatalities and over 50 wounded were taken to the hospital. A worker from Doctors Without Borders also told the outlet that 15 people were killed and more have been injured.

This incident also comes as Afghanistan faces an economic crisis as the insurgent group took control of the country, leading other countries, including the US, to freeze the country’s reserves. However, over the weekend, the Taliban announced that the US was going to provide humanitarian aid to its citizens.

The announcement follows the first direct talks between the two sides since the withdrawal back in August. The insurgent group said that the talks, which took place in Doha, Qatar, went well and that Washington has agreed to release humanitarian aid to Afghanistan even as it does not recognize the Taliban as the country’s new leadership.

The Taliban’s political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told the Associated Press that the group’s acting foreign minister assured the US during the discussions that the Taliban is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan is not a place for extremist groups to carry out attacks on other countries.