[ad_1]
Kabul, Afghanistan – An explosion devastated a mosque inside an Afghan army base in the unstable Khost province, in the east of the country, while Friday 's prayers broke out. finished, killing nine people and injuring 22, the army said.
Afghan officials said the explosion may have been triggered by a suicide bomber or bomb exploded from a distance, but nothing has been officially confirmed and the details are incomplete. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.
It was the latest in a continuing and almost daily assault in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regularly target Afghan police and police forces across the country.
"There were soldiers lying everywhere and the smoke was so thick that it was hard to see," said Abdullah, a soldier who, like most Afghans, uses only one name. He spoke to the Associated Press by phone from the ground up.
The dead and wounded were taken to a clinic at the military base, while the most seriously injured were taken to a nearby hospital.
The blast occurred just days after the suicide of a suicide bomber in Kabul in the Afghan capital, 55 religious scholars gathered to celebrate the feast of the Prophet Muhammad. The Taliban denied any involvement in the attack, which also injured 94 people.
After 17 years and billions of dollars spent on the training and arming of the Afghan army, Afghanistan is fighting against an emboldened Taliban insurgency that reigns in nearly half of the country. In addition to the Taliban, Afghan troops are also fighting against a daring Islamic State affiliate who has been particularly brutal in his attacks on the Afghan Shiite minority.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan on Friday, hundreds of protesters blocked roads in Parwan province, in the north of the country, to denounce the deaths of three people who, according to them, were civilians, killed during an operation. against the Taliban on Friday.
The protesters said that the Afghan Special Forces operation implicated a NATO air strike in Jebul Siraj district, which had killed the three men.
However, NATO spokeswoman Sgt. Debra Richardson, 1st class, stated that no US or NATO activity had occurred in Parwan during the last three days. Provincial governor spokeswoman Wahida Sakhar said Parwan officials were in talks with protesters and promised an investigation into the incident.
Afghan special forces have called for a NATO air strike during a Wednesday operation against the Taliban in Logar province, in the east of the country. Ten people died but we do not know how many civilians there were.
