[ad_1]
Samir Azizi heard the explosion when he waited for Friday prayers to begin at his home in Kunduz City.
The sound came from a mosque nearby. When he got there, hundreds of Shiite Muslims gathered there for weekly prayers, and he was shocked by the massacre before him.
“That’s dozens of people. Old people, young boys, all lying in a pool of blood. You can hear people calling for help,” the 25-year-old told Al Jazeera.
According to residents and hospital sources in the province, the bombing on Friday afternoon was claimed by the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) (ISKP), causing at least 72 deaths and more than 140 injuries.
Aziz said that immediately after the incident, residents worked hard to transport the wounded to a medical facility, adding that the ambulance did not arrive at the scene for at least 40 minutes.
“We were very small, but we did what we could, trying to send anyone to the hospital,” he said.
The city’s roads are usually unimpeded on Friday, but since the United States and other international agencies cut off Kabul’s more than $9.5 billion in assets and responded to the August Taliban takeover.
The aftermath of the bomb attack on the Kunduz Mosque [AFP]Although Afghanistan’s healthcare system has made many advances in the 20 years that foreign powers have existed in the country, it is still highly dependent on foreign aid, and foreign governments have refused to provide help. Engage in Direct dealing with the Taliban has made it difficult for medical institutions across the country to treat patients.
A source at the Kunduz Regional Hospital told Al Jazeera that five more patients died from wounds on Saturday.
Another resident in Said Abad, where the explosion occurred, said that most of the victims were young people.
Ajmal, Najila Hussaini’s brother, is one of these young believers. Before praying, he left his home-about 200 meters from the mosque where members of the Hazara community gathered. When they heard the explosion, the family was preparing lunch, waiting for Ajmal to return.
“It shocked the entire community,” Husseini told Al Jazeera.
The 24-year-old girl immediately thought of her brother and rushed to the mosque. Like the others who arrived at the scene, Husseini could not believe what she saw.
“Everyone is bleeding in a river. I have been looking for Ajmal,” she said, adding that she did not remember how much time her family spent searching for Ajmal before realizing that he-or his body-was not there. At least, not the whole person.
The family searched nearby hospitals and clinics for most of the rest of Friday and early Saturday, but they have not found Ajmal.
“There are so many fragments everywhere. Who knows, one of them may be my brother,” Husseini said.
Friday’s attack was the third major bombing that the Taliban’s long-time enemy ISKP has claimed responsibility for since the escape of former President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban’s control on August 15.
This is also the second time the organization has targeted mosques this month.
At least last week Five civilians The ISKP bomber was killed when it attacked the Eid Gah mosque in Kabul. The family and friends of the Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Zabihullah Mujahid of the Taliban were attending a memorial service for his mother there.
ISKP has claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest attacks on Afghan Shiite minorities in the past six years.
The Taliban condemned the attack and promised to take action against the perpetrators.
The source told Al Jazeera about the competition between the two groups and said that one of the reasons ISKP proved so difficult for the Taliban and the former Afghan government is that they have changed their strategy and are now mainly operating as a “latent group.” Strike anywhere.
[ad_2]
Source link