Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, the Taliban's influential religious leader, was killed in a bomb attack on a Kabul madrassa last week, Taliban officials said. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

20 people were killed in a bomb attack on a mosque in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul. Another 40 people were injured in the attack which was carried out during Maghrib prayers yesterday local time. Imam Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli of that mosque is also among the dead.

 

A security official told Al-Jazeera that 20 people were killed in the blast. Another 40 people were injured. However, multiple media outlets including AFP reported the death toll to be 10.

 

A hospital in the capital city of Kabul is run by the Italian non-governmental organization Emergency. The organization said that they treated 27 injured people. Three of them died. Among the injured are five children.

 

 

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Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the casualties but did not specify how many. He wrote on Twitter, "The killers and masterminds of civilians must be punished for their crimes soon."

 

Eyewitnesses told news agencies that a powerful explosion occurred at the Siddiquiya Mosque in Khair Khanna on the outskirts of northern Kabul. Due to the intensity of the explosion, the windows of the neighboring houses were broken.

 

A local resident, who did not want to be named, said that the imam of the mosque, Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli, was among the dead. After assuming power, the Taliban has been demanding to restore security in the country. But in the meantime, various armed groups are often attacking.

 

The Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP/ISIS-K), an affiliate of the Islamic State group, has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in recent months.

 

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