4 killed, 20 wounded in explosion at mosque in Kabul

At least four people were killed and 20 other suffered injuries in an explosion at a mosque in Shakar Dara district north of Kabul on Friday afternoon, Tolo News reported citing police.

The blast took place at Haji Bakhshi Mosque in the Qala-e-Murad Bek area in the Shakar Dara district of Kabul during Friday prayer, police said.

A security official from the district who wished not to be named said that the imam of the mosque has been wounded in the explosion.

The officials said the bomb was placed inside the mosque. Sources from the district said at least 10 people were killed in the explosion.

No group has so far claimed the responsibility for the attack.

Amid the ongoing drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan, the country has seen a spike in the incidents of violence in recent weeks, leading to casualties of Afghan security forces and civilians.

Afghan security officials on Saturday said that the Taliban in the past week tried to take over some strategic areas in at least six provinces of the country, but security forces repelled their offensives.

( With inputs from ANI )