Afghanistan mosque suicide bomb attack kills at least 41
27 October BBC
A suicide bomber targeted worshippers who had gathered at a mosque in
north Afghanistan for prayers to mark Eid al-Adha, killing at least 41
people. More than 50 people were wounded in the attack, which happened
as people were leaving the Eid Gah mosque in Maymana, capital of Faryab
province. Senior provincial government and police officials attended the
prayers, but appeared to escape serious injury. The victims were mainly
police officers and civilians.
Officials said that 14 civilians and six children were among the
dead.
"We had just finished Eid al-Adha prayers and we were congratulating
and hugging each other," deputy provincial governor Abdul Satar Barez
told the AFP news agency."Suddenly a big explosion took place and the
area was full of dust and smoke and body parts of police and civilians
were all over the place.
It was a very powerful explosion."One survivor told the BBC that the
attacker had used potent explosives and ball bearings inside his suicide
jacket to cause maximum casualties.Mr Barez said senior police and
government officials had been the target, but were inside the mosque at
the time so escaped the force of the blast.Shafi Bekoghlu, a BBC Uzbek
reporter based in Maymana, said he had been due to go to the mosque but
was running late so went to a different mosque for Eid prayers.
"Just as I got home, I heard a very loud explosion. I rushed to the
hospital and saw lots of cars, police cars and ambulances - carrying
bodies in," he said, adding that police fired warning shots into the air
to prevent people entering the hospital."I went back to the hospital a
couple of hours later and saw the bodies of policemen lined up."Doctors
told the BBC that a number of the injured were in a critical
condition.One prominent tribal elder who survived the blast said the
attacker was wearing police uniform and was not searched by members of
the security forces, the BBC's Bilal Sarwary reports.He managed to
breach several layers of security, 50m from the provincial governor's
office.Intelligence reports prior to the attack had suggested insurgents
wanted to target the Eid Gah mosque, in the heart of Maymana, our
correspondent adds.Attacks in northern Afghanistan are far less common
than in the south and east, and Faryab province has been considered to
be relatively peaceful.
However, there have been a spate of assassinations in Maymana in
recent days, our correspondent says.A senior former Taliban commander,
who had defected to the government side, was killed along with his son,
as well as a number of very prominent tribal elders seen to be giving
crucial support to the government.
Friday's attack came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged the
Taliban to stop "killing their people and destroying their mosques,
hospitals and schools" and join the peace process."They can run for any
position they want... if they want to join the government they are
welcome," Mr Karzai said of the insurgents in his Eid al-Adha message.
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