Burqa-clad bombers kill 29 inside Shia mosque

Khost, August 3 

Burqa-clad suicide bombers struck a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing at least 29 persons and wounding more than 80 in the latest attack on the minority.

Officials said they feared the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan’s long conflict.

“Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez,” said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan border. He told AFP the toll had risen to 29 killed and 81 wounded, with children among the victims.

The bombers wore “women’s clothing”, he said, and shot first at the mosque’s security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives.

Provincial police chief General Raz Mohammad Mandozai confirmed the incident, and that the pair were wearing burqas to hide their explosives and weapons.

Local resident Sayed Naimatullah said he could hear the blasts from inside his home and rushed to the mosque. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have denied involvement. Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport. — AFP