A suicide bomber killed more than 40 people, including five children, when he struck at a mosque in northern Afghanistan after Eidul Azha prayers on Friday, officials said.
It was the worst death toll in a single attack in Afghanistan since 80 died on December 6 last year in a suicide blast at a shrine in Kabul on the Ashura day.
At least 50 others were wounded as the bomb ripped through the crowd of worshippers in Maymana, capital of Faryab province,
Regional police chief General Abdul Khaliq Aqsai pinned the blame on the Taliban; however, the militant group’s spokesman said they were investigating to find out who was responsible.
“The suicide bomber detonated explosives when our countrymen were congratulating each other on the Eid holiday,” said Lal Muhammad Ahmadzai, spokesman for the police in the north, adding that almost half of the dead were police.
Aqsai said he believed the attack was revenge for the killing of the Taliban’s “shadow governor” for the province in a clash with security forces on Thursday.
The attacker was wearing a police uniform when he blew himself up at the entrance to the city’s packed Eid Gah mosque, deputy provincial governor Abdul Satar Barez told AFP.
“We have 42 dead – more than 20 are security forces and the rest of them are civilians, including five or six children,” he said. “Around 51 are wounded – 15 of them critically.”
The attack, at around 9 am local time on the first day of Eid, came just before President Hamid Karzai repeated his call for the Taliban to join the government.
Karzai strongly condemned the mosque attack in a statement, calling the perpetrators “the enemies of Islam and humanity”.
Pakistan strongly condemned the suicide attack. Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Ali Khan, in a statement, said Pakistan conveys its deepest condolences to the government and the people of Afghanistan over the tragic incident.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims.Our two countries face the common threat of terrorism, and Pakistan is committed to work closely with Afghanistan to eliminate this scourge,” the spokesman said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2012.
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Why are young men and women accepting the ideology of the Taliban? This is a common problem in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and in other parts of the world as well where Taliban sympathizers are ignored by their own establishment and left with providing sanctuary for the Taliban. The only way to truly defeat the Taliban is from within. And that will only happen when local communities of Afghans, Pashtuns etc are empowered and believe that their own governments will take care of them. These are poor, tribal, rural people who do not have access to some of the basic amenities required to live a dignified life, and they are constantly looking to others for help. We all have to help them understand the Taliban is their enemy. The Taliban has to be stopped. The Taliban have to be handed over to the authorities. The Taliban have to be shot down in close combat. The Taliban have to be isolated and disarmed.
Religion of peace. End of suffering for the dead.