Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Blasts Across Afghanistan Kill at Least 10, Injure Dozens
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
April 21, 2022

Share

 

A series of explosions across Afghanistan on Thursday killed at least 10 people and wounded scores more, according to police and hospital officials.

No one immediately took responsibility for the deadly explosions, but they mostly targeted the country’s minority Shiite Muslims and had all the hallmarks of a deadly Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or IS-K.

The worst of the three attacks occurred in northern Mazar-e-Sharif where at least 10 worshippers were killed as they knelt in prayer, said Dr. Ghawsuddin Anwari, head of the main hospital in northern Mazar-e-Sharif. Another 40 were injured. They were brought in ambulances and private cars.

The explosion at the Sai Doken mosque in northern Mazar-e-Sharif occurred as Muslims mark the holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful fast from sunrise to sunset.

Earlier Thursday in the capital, Kabul, a roadside bomb exploded and injured two children. That bomb also targeted the country’s minority Shiites, striking in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood of Kabul, dominated by Afghanistan’s minority Shiite Muslims.

Two days earlier in the same area, multiple explosions targeting educational institutions killed at least six people, mostly children, and wounded 17 others.

A third explosion Thursday, this one in northern Kunduz province, struck a vehicle carrying mechanics contracted by the ruling Taliban, according to Matiullah Rohani, head of information and culture in Kunduz province.

Thursday’s series of deadly explosions comes after months of relative calm in Afghanistan and after a crackdown against the IS-K by the country’s Taliban rulers in the first months following their sweep to power.

The IS affiliate, which has been operating in Afghanistan since 2014, is seen as the greatest security challenge facing the country’s Taliban rulers. Following their August takeover, the Taliban launched a sweeping crackdown against the IS headquarters in eastern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, advocates for the minority Hazaras called for a stop to the killings. Hazaras, who make up around 9% of the population of Afghanistan’s 36 million people, stand alone in being targeted because of their ethnicity — distinct from the other ethnic groups, such as Tajik and Uzbek and the Pashtun majority — and their religion. Most Hazaras are Shiite Muslims, despised by Sunni Muslim radicals like the Islamic State group, and discriminated against by many in the Sunni-majority country.

The Islamic State affiliate has previously targeted schools, particularly in the Shiite-dominated Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood. In May last year, months before the Taliban took power in Kabul, more than 60 children, mostly girls, were killed when two bombs were detonated outside their school, also in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood.

Dasht-e-Barchi and other parts of western Kabul are houses to the Shiite minorities of Afghanistan which have mostly been targeted by the Islamic State affiliate loyalists, however, no one has claimed credit for the recent explosions.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

DON'T MISS

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

DON'T MISS

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

DON'T MISS

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

DON'T MISS

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

DON'T MISS

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

UP NEXT

Mexico to Announce ‘Measures’ Next Week if No Deal on US Metals Tariffs

UP NEXT

Pressure Mounts on Netanyahu as Opposition Moves to Dissolve Parliament

UP NEXT

Dutch Government Collapses After Far-Right Leader Wilders Quits Coalition

UP NEXT

Gaza Ministry Says Israel Kills More Than 30 Aid Seekers, Israel Denies

UP NEXT

Nonprofit Ship Sets Sail for Gaza After Drone Attack Setback

UP NEXT

Israel Blocks Ramallah Meeting With Arab Ministers, Israeli Official Says

UP NEXT

Israeli Forces Open Fire a Kilometer Away From Gaza Aid Site, Killing 3, Health Officials Say

UP NEXT

Ukraine and Russia End Their Latest Round of Direct Peace Talks in Istanbul

UP NEXT

In Marseille, a Shadow Becomes Art in Banksy’s Latest Street Mural

UP NEXT

UN May Cut Staff by 20%, Internal Memo Says

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

12 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

12 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

12 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

12 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

12 hours ago

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

13 hours ago

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

14 hours ago

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

15 hours ago

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

16 hours ago

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

16 hours ago

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

The nonprofit supporting Fresno State’s ag specialty college unveiled its first corporate sponsor Thursday supporting students and tea...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

11 hours ago

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

11 hours ago

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

12 hours ago

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

12 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

12 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

12 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

Webster, GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 5, 2025
12 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend