Iran Raps Attack on Mosque, Voices Concern over Escalation of Violence in Afghanistan


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced a terrorist attack targeting a mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, voicing concern over the escalation of violence in the neighboring country.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Friday condemned the bomb explosion at the Mawlavi Sekandar mosque for Sunni Muslims in Kunduz, wishing divine mercy for the martyrs and patience and divine blessings for the bereaved.

Khatibzadeh pointed to a series of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan over the past days and described the escalation of violence as a source of deep concern.

“The attack on the Sunni mosque in Kunduz Province, which followed (Thursday’s) attack on a Shiite mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, clearly shows the evil goals of the terrorists serving as mercenaries for foreigners, who are seeking to create a civil war in Afghanistan,” he added, according to the Foreign Ministry’s website.

An explosion struck the Mawlavi Sekandar Mosque north of Kunduz city during Friday prayers, killing over 30 people.

It comes a day after the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group claimed a bomb attack at a Shiite mosque in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif that killed at least 12 worshippers and left 58 people injured.