At least 34 killed, 102 wounded in N. Afghanistan explosions

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, April 21: At least 34 people were killed and 102 others wounded in two explosions in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, local media reported. In Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh province, at least 30 worshippers were killed and 80 others wounded when a blast ripped through a mosque, the Khaama Press quoted officials of Abu Ali Sina Regional Hospital in the city as saying. Health officials in Abu Ali Sina hospital in the Mazar-e-Sharif city of the northern Balkh province said that 30 killed and 80 wounded have been dispatched to the hospital after an explosion hit “Se Dukan” mosque in the city. The health officials have said that the number of victims is feared to increase as the statistics are preliminary. An eyewitness said that the blast took place inside the Saay Doakaan Mosque when scores of worshippers were offering prayers at around 12:45 p.m. local time. The second blast came about 15 minutes later in neighboring Kunduz province, killing four people and wounding 22 others. The Kunduz blast occurred after a roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying military personnel on the outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city, according to spokesman of provincial police Obaidullah Abid. Abid said that military personnel were killed and it was not immediately known if any pedestrians were affected by the explosion. In addition, two children were slightly wounded in a bomb attack in Police District 5 of the country’s capital of Kabul earlier Thursday morning, police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed in a tweet. Details about the incidents are not available amid the absence of any official statement. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. In recent months, the war-torn country was hit by a series of terror attacks reportedly staged by militants of the Islamic State (IS) group opposing the Taliban-led caretaker government. On Tuesday, at least six people were killed and over 20 wounded in two back-to-back explosions outside a boy’s high school in western Kabul. TLTP