Several feared dead as massive bomb blast rocks mosque in Kabul after Friday prayers

Earlier this month, at least five people sustained injuries in two major blasts that rocked the Dasht-e-Barchi area in the western edge of Kabul, police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.

As many as 14 people were declared dead in an explosion that went off near a mosque in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul on Friday. According to reports, a column of black smoke rose into the sky and shots rang out several minutes after the blast in the city's diplomatic quarter.​

The explosion was the latest of a deadly series targeting the Friday prayers at mosques in recent months, some of them claimed by the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Speaking to reporters, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said, "After prayers, when people wanted to come out from the mosque, a blast happened. All casualties are civilians, the exact number is not clear yet."

On the other hand, Interior Minister spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the blast went off on the main road near the mosque and added that the cause of the matter is under investigation. Takor further added that police teams were at the site and that an investigation was underway.

Earlier this month, at least five people sustained injuries in two major blasts that rocked the Dasht-e-Barchi area in the western edge of Kabul, police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.

"Explosive devices planted on two bicycles went off in Dasht-e-Barchi locality late evening today, injuring five persons," Zadran was quoted as saying. He also had stated that an investigation on the matter was underway.

The mosque has been the target of attacks in the past, including a blast in June 2020 before the Taliban returned to power. That attack killed the mosque's imam and wounded several people.