Suicide attack on Shia mosque in Kabul kills at least 30 worshippers, police say
A suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of a Shia Muslim mosque in Afghanistan's capital as other attackers stormed the building, killing at least 30 people as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers, officials said.
Islamic State, which has launched several attacks against minority Shia targets in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility, the jihadist group's news agency said.
The attack sparked chaos as worshippers fled and others frantically searched for missing family members.
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"The attackers are slaughtering people like sheep, but there's no one to go and rescue them," said Murtaza, a young boy whose parents were trapped inside as the attack unfolded.
"A lot of people are on the ground and no one is trying to rescue them."
By Friday evening, police said they had secured the mosque in the Khair Khana area of the capital, and three attackers were dead.
Witnesses said they had thrown grenades, and police officials said a second suicide bomber struck among a group of women in the mosque.
Security sources put the overall death toll at 30 people killed and "dozens" wounded.
Ministry of Interior spokesperson Najib Danish said at least three policemen were killed and eight wounded.
Police said they rescued more than 100 worshippers.
At least 15 of the wounded were taken to city hospitals, said Ismail Kawosi, a spokesperson for the public health ministry.
One witness, Sayed Pacha, said four attackers had entered the mosque.
"At first a suicide bomber opened fire and martyred two security guards at the entrance of the mosque and then they entered inside," he told Reuters.
Human rights activists condemned the attack, the latest in a campaign of sectarian violence.
"Insurgents who carry out atrocities against a specific ethnic or religious community are committing war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity," Patricia Gossman, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.