11 killed as blast hits mosque in northern Afghanistan

KABUL An explosion at a Shia mosque in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday killed at least 11 people, a health official said.

A separate blast caused at least 11 more casualties in Kunduz, another northern Afghan city, according to a provincial health official. The explosions came during the Islamic holy month of Ramazan and two days after blasts tore through a high school in a predominantly Shia Hazara area in western Kabul, killing at least six.

“A blast happened in 2nd district inside a Shia mosque,” Mohammad Asif Wazeri, the spokesman for the Taliban commander in Mazar-e-Sharif told a news agency. Zia Zendani, the spokesman for the provincial health authority, said 11 people had been killed and 32 wounded in the blast.

Hospitals in Kunduz had received 11 killed or wounded people in a separate explosion, according to Najeebullah Sahel, from Kunduz’s provincial health authority. There were no details on the location or cause of the blast in Kunduz.

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers say they have secured the country since taking power in August, but international officials and analysts say the risk of a resurgence in militancy remains and the Islamic State militant group has claimed several attacks.