58 killed in Afghanistan bomb attacks

A suicide bomber struck a crowd of Shiite worshippers at a mosque in Kabul on Tuesday. The blast killed at least 58 people in the deadliest of two attacks on a Shiite holy day. They were the first major sectarian assaults since the fall of the Taliban a decade ago. The Kabul bomber blew himself up in a crowd that had gathered outside the Abul Fazl shrine to commemorate the seventh-century death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein. The shrine, which is near the presidential palace, was packed with worshippers, with dozens more crammed into the courtyard. One witness said the bomber was at the end of a line and detonated his explosives near one of the gates to the shrine. Kabul police chief General Mohammad Ayoub Salangi said the blast occurred as the ceremony was about to finish. General Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, Kabul Police Chief said: "It was about to finish. A new group arrived and the suicide bombers placed themselves among the new group. As a result of the suicide bombing, unfortunately some of our Muslim mourners have been killed." The casualties from the blast near the Kabul shrine were taken to several hospitals, with it feared that the death toll could rise. Deputy Director of Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, Noor Agha Akramzada, confirmed the arrival of the victims at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital. Noor Agha Akramzada, department director of Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital said: "We received 16 people from the Murad Khani area incident here at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital. There were three women among them and the others were men. There has been one casualty. We admitted four wounded people. The others had slight wounds and have been discharged after they received necessary medical aid." Four other Shiites were killed in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a bomb strapped to a bicycle exploded as a convoy of Afghan Shiites was driving down the road, shouting slogans for the festival known as Ashoura. A health ministry spokesman said 21 people were also wounded in the attack. Religiously motivated attacks on Shiites are rare in Afghanistan although they are common in neighboring Pakistan. No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s blasts, reminiscent of the wave of sectarian attacks that shook Iraq during the height of the war there. The Taliban strongly condemned the two attacks and said in a statement that they deeply regretted that innocent Afghans were killed and wounded.