At least 15 people were injured after a bomb exploded at a mosque in Traili, Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesperson said, the Associated Press reported Friday.
ISIS militants have orchestrated several attacks in the region, according to the AP. The bomb was likely placed in the mosque before Friday prayers, the Taliban spokesman for Nangarhar Province, Qari Hanif, said.
Witness photographs show at least three dead bodies and the mosque’s interior covered in broken glass and rubble, the AP reported. Hanif wasn’t able to confirm the fatalities.
Forces with Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) escort an alleged militant as Taliban and Islamic State (IS) fighters are presented to the media in Jalalabad on May 23, 2019. (Photo by NOORULLAH SHIRZADA / AFP) (Photo credit should read NOORULLAH SHIRZADA/AFP via Getty Images)
ISIS militants have targeted mosques in three major attacks all on Fridays over the last five weeks, according to the AP. ISIS gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Shiite Muslim worshipers in Kunduz and then Kandahar. (RELATED: Taliban Calls On US To Recognize Their Government, Says Failure To Do So Could Have Consequences)
The most recent mosque bombing targeted Sunni Muslims in the mountainous Spin Ghar region, where ISIS fighters and the Taliban frequently clash, the AP reported. ISIS militants have targeted Taliban fighters with near-daily shootings and bombings in the area.
A Taliban spokesperson said the new government has arrested around 600 ISIS members and killed at least 33 militants during skirmishes, according to the AP. Violent activity between the groups increased after the Taliban seized power of Afghanistan in mid-August.
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