PLANNED AND DEADLY

30+ People Killed as Coordinated Suicide Bombs Rip Through Afghan Mosque

Eyewitnesses said around 500 people were packed into the Imam Barga mosque, a week after an attack in the north of Afghanistan.

Hospital officials say at least 37 people have been killed after coordinated suicide blasts ripped through a crowded Shiite mosque in southern Afghanistan. Eyewitnesses told the Associated Press that around 500 people were packed into the Imam Barga mosque in Kandahar for Friday prayers when four explosions happened in the space of a few minutes. One eyewitness said two attackers detonated their bombs at a security gate, causing chaos that allowed two more attackers to run inside and set off more explosions within the walls of the mosque. Last week, a local Islamic State affiliate claimed a bomb that killed 46 people at a Shiite mosque in northern Afghanistan, but there have been no claims of responsibility for the latest attacks. Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said an investigation was underway.