Several killed in explosion near Kabul mosque

Several civilians were killed in an explosion in Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul on Sunday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter.

The blast was near the entrance of the Eidgah mosque in Kabul, Mujahid said. The details behind the explosion were not immediately clear and Mujahid did not say exactly how many had died or were injured.

The blast occurred on the main road just outside the Eidgah mosque where a prayer ceremony of for Mujahid’s mother was underway, a Taliban source told Reuters.

“All of the victims are civilians,” the source said, adding that there was no information on the exact number of casualties.

Another Taliban official told Reuters at least two civilians were killed and three were wounded in the blast.

No one has claimed responsibility so far.

In August, the Taliban Islamist militia swept back into power in Afghanistan after most U.S. and other Western troops left, ending a military and diplomatic mission that began soon after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Taliban leaders, already under pressure from the international community to renounce ties with groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda, have denied their militants are active in the country.

But the Islamic State recently claimed responsibility for bomb attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad. (Reuters)