An explosion on Friday outside a mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat killed at least 18 people, including a high-ranking pro-Taliban cleric, in what authorities said was a bombing. .
Images posted on Twitter show what appear to be bloodied bodies strewn across the Gazargah mosque, one of the largest in the west of the country.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said 23 were injured in the blast.
Herat police spokesman Mahmood Rasoli said Mujib Rahman Ansari – the pro-Taliban cleric – was among the dead, along with some of his guards and civilians. The explosion occurred as they approached the mosque for Friday prayers.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, expressed condolences over Ansari’s death and wrote in a social media post that the attackers would be punished. “A strong and courageous religious scholar from this country died a martyr in a brutal attack,” he said.
The cleric killed on Friday spoke strongly in defense of the Taliban at a large gathering of thousands of academics organized by the terrorist group in late June, condemning anyone who opposed his administration.
“Whoever commits the smallest act against our Islamic government must be beheaded,” Ansari said at the time. “This flag [do Talibã] was not easily hoisted and will not be lowered easily.”
Even before the Taliban returned to power in August of last year, Ansari was already known for his positions against previous US-backed governments.
A year after the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, the country has seen frequent attacks. In mid-August, a suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a religious school in Kabul in an attack that killed Taliban cleric Rahimullah Haqqani and his brother. The cleric was known in particular for his fiery speeches against the Islamic State extremist group, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
In April, the holy month of Ramadan, a series of bombings was recorded, with a toll of dozens of dead.
Most of the attacks are claimed by the Islamic State, often targeting minorities such as the Shias, but also the Taliban. Afghan fundamentalists have said they have defeated Islamic State militants, but rivalry between the groups has kept tension and violence high in the country.
The United Nations has raised concerns about the growing number of attacks and some explosions have been claimed by a local branch of the Islamic State.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s explosion.
