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At least 18 people were killed and 23 others wounded on Friday, September 2, in a suicide bombing near a mosque in western Afghanistan. He was targeting the well-known Islamic cleric close to the Taliban, Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, who is among the dead.
The explosion occurred at the Guzargah Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Herat, western Afghanistan, during Friday noon prayers, the height of the Muslim religious week, when places of worship are especially crowded.
18 people died and 23 others were injured, according to the spokesman for the governor of Herat province.
Among the dead is Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, a prominent cleric known in the country for his criticism of Western-backed governments over the past two decades. The suicide bomber detonated the explosives he was carrying as he approached Ansari, who died along with several people who were with him.
The imam was considered close to the Taliban, which took control of the country a year ago when foreign forces, led by the United States, withdrew. His death was confirmed by the main Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.
Local officials in Herat confirmed the death of Mawlawi Mujeeb Rahman Ansari in a blast at Guzargah mosque in Herat, and said the blast was due to a suicide attack inside the mosque during the Friday prayers. There is no exact information on casualties yet.#TOLOnews pic.twitter.com/5Y4angMydG
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) September 2, 2022
“The Islamic Emirate expresses its deep sorrow at his death and those responsible for this incident will be punished for their heinous acts,” promised government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Just before the attack, Mujib ur Rahman Ansari had met in another part of the city with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban government, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was visiting Herat. Ansari had run from the meeting to the mosque to get to midday prayers, a Baradar aide said in a tweet mourning the cleric’s death.
The imam had threatened those who oppose the Taliban
Mujib ur Rahman Ansari had a large following and was known for his fiery speeches. In a meeting with religious leaders in Kabul in early July, he ruled that anyone trying to overthrow the Taliban regime must be beheaded.
“This (Taliban) flag was not easily raised, and it will not be easily lowered,” he said. “All religious scholars in Afghanistan should agree… that anyone who commits any act against our Islamic government should be beheaded and eliminated.”
This attack occurs the same week that the Taliban celebrated the first anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan after two decades of conflict, and it came just two weeks after they came to power in Kabul.
The Islamic State Group as the main threat
The number of attacks in Afghanistan has decreased since the Taliban took power a year ago, but they have not stopped.
No armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although the self-proclaimed Islamic State Group (IS) usually claims responsibility for these attacks, becoming the main threat to the Taliban regime. In early August, another Taliban cleric and his brother were killed in a suicide bombing at a Koranic school in Kabul, claimed by IS.
A series of attacks hit the country in late April, during the holy month of Ramadan, and in late May, killing dozens of people. The majority of the attacks were claimed by IS, which mainly targets Afghan religious minorities Shiites, Sufis and Sikhs, but also the Taliban.
With EFE, AP and AFP
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