Two mosques bombed in Afghanistan as death toll in a week of attacks climbs to nearly 200

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Blood covers the walls and charred ceiling of the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul after a suicide bomber threw a grenade into the women’s section of the mosque and then blew himself up. Dozens of worshipers were killed in the attack.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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The inside of the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul is covered in gore after a suicide bomber killed 59 people and wounded 60 others inside the packed mosque on Friday.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Blood splatter covers a wall inside the Imam Zaman mosque.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A burned ceiling marks the location where a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul, killing 59 people and injuring 60 others.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A worshiper peers outside a window behind blood-splattered columns in the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A private bodyguard inspects the carnage inside the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul after a suicide bomber blew himself up and threw a grenade into the women section’s section of the mosque.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Pedestrians point out the Imam Zaman mosque, where a suicide bomber blew himself up and threw a grenade into the women’s section of the mosque, killing 59 people and wounding 60 others on Oct. 20, 2017, in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Blood-soaked clothing and carpets are piled outside the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul after a suicide bomber blew himself up and threw a grenade into the women’s section of the mosque.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Shira Ahmad, far right, stands with family members as they bury his father, 83-year-old Karbalai Mohammad Anwar Noori, who was killed by a suicide bomber inside the Imam Zaman mosque on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Ali Rahim mourns for his father, 83-year-old Karbalai Mohammad Anwar Noori, who was killed Friday in a bombing at a mosque in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A man stops to say a prayer after the burial of one of the 59 victims of a suicide bombing in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Imam Abdulaziz Amiri, second from right, warns worshipers to be cautious of threats against them, as mourners bury Karbalai Mohammad Anwar Noori, 83, who was killed in a suicide bombing at a Kabul mosque.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Shira Ahmad weeps after burying his father, Karbalai Mohammad Anwar Noori, from Ghazni Province, who was killed after a suicide bomber attacked the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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A private bodyguard pulls a ball bearing out of a damaged wall after a bombing inside the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Mourners bury 83-year-old Karbalai Mohammad Anwar Noori, one of 59 people killed by a suicide bomber at a mosque in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Friends and family members wrap the body of Karbalai Mohammad Anwar Noori before burying him. The 83-year-old was among dozens of worshipers killed Friday by a suicide bomber at the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Mourners bury Karbalai Mohammad Anwar Noori after the 83-year-old was killed in a suicide bombing.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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Mourners cover the grave of one of the 59 victims of a suicide bomber in Kabul.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

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The Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul was packed with worshipers on Friday evening when a suicide bomber attacked, killing 59 people and wounding 60 others.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

By Shashank Bengali, Sultan Faizy

Oct. 20, 2017 11:35 AM PT

Reporting from KABUL, Afghanistan —

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque packed with worshipers in Kabul on Friday evening, killing 39 people and wounding dozens as the toll from a week of devastating bombings in Afghanistan continued to rise.

It was the second time in less than two months that militants attacked a Shiite Muslim house of worship in Kabul. Both attacks were claimed by loyalists of the Islamic State militant group, which regards Shiites as apostates.

A suicide bomber also struck a mosque in the central province of Ghor, killing at least 20 people and wounding 10, according to the Afghan interior ministry.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but a police spokesman said a local politician was the target in Ghor, a remote province riven by factional disputes.

The explosions followed two major attacks this week targeting security forces in the south and east. Nearly 200 Afghan security personnel and civilians have been killed in bombings since Monday, according to official tallies.

The attack Friday on western Kabul’s Imam Zaman mosque was the latest to strike Afghanistan’s Shiite minority, which finds itself increasingly under siege from extremists. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan reported last week that 84 Shiites were killed and 194 injured in attacks during the first nine months of the year.

The mosque was a scene of chaos after the blast, which occurred shortly after sunset. Video footage showed bloodied bodies lying on the carpet, their clothes in tatters, as distraught survivors carried some victims away in sheets.

By the time ambulances reached the mosque, onlookers had already begun transferring injured people to hospitals in private vehicles. Dead bodies were piled on a nearby street, said Sayed Jan Agha, who runs a shop near the mosque.

Agha said he counted 45 bodies, including those of women and children. The Afghan interior ministry said 39 had been killed and 45 wounded.

The Afghan presidential palace condemned the attack in a statement.

“Targeting people in holy places and anywhere else are inhuman and criminal acts of terrorists against human rights and Islamic values,” the statement said.

While the United Nations reported that civilian casualties through September were slightly lower than last year — when more than 8,500 Afghans were killed or wounded in attacks, the most on record — the spate of bombings has demonstrated the ability of armed groups to attack a range of targets almost anywhere in the country.

The attacks also raise pressure on U.S. military commanders who have said that the deployment of more than 3,000 additional American troops, authorized by President Trump in August at the urging of the Pentagon, will help the struggling Afghan security forces gain a greater grip on their country.

Faizy is a special correspondent.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali for more news from South Asia

UPDATES:

11:35 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with staff reporting.

This article was originally published at 7:45 a.m.