![A wounded Afghan man receives treatment at a hospital after he was injured in an ISIS attack on a Shia mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif on April 21. [AFP]](/cnmi_st/images/2022/04/21/35076-000_328n7m2-739_416.webp)
KABUL -- At least 16 people were killed by bomb blasts Thursday (April 21) -- including 12 at a Shia mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif claimed by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS).
"The soldiers of the caliphate managed to get a booby-trapped bag" inside the mosque, detonating it from afar after it was packed with worshippers, the group said in a statement.
Separately, in Kunduz, at least four people were killed and 18 wounded by a blast that police spokesman Obaidullah Abedi, speaking to AFP, attributed to a bicycle bomb targeting a vehicle carrying mechanics.
Social media users posted grisly images of victims being carried to hospital from Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif.
The images, which could not be independently verified, showed a scene littered with broken glass.
"Blood and fear are everywhere," Ahmad Zia Zindani, spokesman for the Balkh provincial public health department, told AFP, adding that "people were screaming" while seeking news of their relatives at the hospital.
Twelve people were killed in the blast and 58 wounded -- including 32 in serious condition, he said.
"Relatives of victims were arriving at city hospitals looking for their near and dear ones. Many residents were also coming to donate blood," Zindani said.
Just on Monday (April 18), ISIS claimed a rocket attack against Uzbekistan from neighbouring Afghanistan, the first such bombardment of the Central Asian nation by the group.
2nd anti-Shia attack this week
This is the second attack on a Shia target this week, after multiple explosions Tuesday killed at least six people and wounded 24 in Kabul.
Eyewitnesses said the first explosion happened near Mumtaz Tuition Centre and was followed by two back-to-back explosions close to Abdul Rahim Shahid High School in Dasht-e-Barchi, a predominantly Shia Hazara neighbourhood.
No group has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack.
The Shia Hazara community, which makes up 10-20% of Afghanistan's 38 million people, has long been the target of terrorist acts -- most carried out by ISIS.
ISIS-K's deadly record
ISIS has claimed some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan in recent years.
On October 8, a suicide bomber from ISIS's Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) targeted a mosque in Kunduz, killing about 100 Shia Muslims and injuring scores of others, according to locals.
In May last year at least 85 people -- mainly female students -- were killed and about 300 wounded when three bombs exploded near their school in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood.
No group claimed responsibility for that massacre, but in October 2020 ISIS admitted a suicide attack on an educational centre in the same area that killed 24 people, including students.
In May 2020, the group was blamed for a bloody attack on a maternity ward of a hospital in the same neighbourhood that killed 25 people, including new mothers, newborns and nurses.
In Afghanistan, any subsequent crime's responsibility falls on the United States Because the Afghan army was brought to its knees by the United States. The United States is responsible because the Afghan army was no longer able to stand up to any attack and defend its people but gave power to those the United States and other internationals called terrorists. The Afghan army could repel any threats from Afghanistan to other countries easily. Still, to create anarchy in the region, the US gave power to the Taliban. And the Taliban have been killing innocent Muslims / humans for years. Afghanistan's development work has been hampered and delayed. At the request of others, the implemented projects were destroyed. What will such a ruler do, and how will he defend the people? The United States is responsible for the events in Afghanistan. The Taliban cannot protect their cities or protect themselves against the people. The assassinations in Afghanistan now and throughout the republic were directly caused by foreigners' orders and officials. Examples: Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, Chairman of the Meshrano Jirga in the Eastern Provinces, Zahir Qadir, Member of the Wolesi Jirga for Nangarhar, Gul Murad Arab, a local businessman, were/are involved. And in the northern provinces, Shiite leaders and local officials working to defend the interests of Iran and other countries in the region have been involved in such cases and are still pursuing foreign projects like Mohaqiq and Khalili.
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Responsibility for all these killings lies with ISIS terrorists as well as Shiite leaders working to defend Iran's interests. The spies include Mohaqiq, Khalili and other criminals who recruited Hazara youths on behalf of Iran's terrorist intelligence agencies and sent them to fight in Syria and Iraq. Pakistan and Iran are the enemies of Afghanistan and the two are children of evil.
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