Afghanistan: explosion in a mosque in the center of Kabul, one dead

A mosque at the entrance to the Green Zone, a protected diplomatic district, was the target of an attack on Tuesday evening prayers, killing at least one person, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.

Read also: Afghanistan: renewed violence despite the epidemic

" Unfortunately, explosives placed by terrorists in the mosque of Wazir Akbar Khan were activated, killing one devotee and wounding three, " said Tareq Arian, the spokesman for the ministry, who had previously reported an attack. -suicide. Wazir Akbar Khan is the central district in which the Green Zone is located, where most embassies and other foreign institutions hide behind high concrete walls. The explosion, still unclaimed, was strongly felt in the neighborhood, which also houses the presidential palace and the NATO headquarters, prompting its occupants to take shelter in secure rooms.

Read also: Afghanistan: 7 civilians killed in a mine explosion

The Afghan government has described the attack as " heinous ", which " reveals the brutality and inhumanity of those who deliberately commit violence against our ulama and innocent people ," said presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi. If it escapes the fighting that ravages the countryside, Kabul is frequently targeted by attacks. On Saturday, two employees of an Afghan television channel were killed there in the explosion of a bomb claimed by the Islamic State group.

Read also: Afghanistan: two employees of a television channel killed by a bomb

The Green Zone has already been the target of numerous attacks. The deadliest, the explosion in front of one of its front doors of a tank truck, left at least 150 dead and 400 injured in May 2017. Several embassies, including those of France and Germany, had then been badly damaged. Tuesday's attack comes as violence in the country has abated since May 24, when the Taliban declared a three-day ceasefire for the Eid celebrations. The insurgents, however, did not extend the truce, despite numerous requests from the Afghan government, and resumed attacks on its security forces.

Monday evening, seven civilians died in the explosion of a buried roadside mine in the north of the country. Several officials have accused the Taliban of being behind it.