A large explosion has hit a mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul. The blast is believed to have occurred during evening prayers and there are suspected to be many casualties, although the numbers are not yet known.
Khalid Zadran, the Taliban police spokesman in Kabul, was quoted by local media as saying there had been an explosion in the city’s 17th district. Reports say the imam of the mosque was among the dead. Security forces have reached the scene, he said.
Police said there were many victims, but did not say how many. A Taliban intelligence official said up to 35 people may have been injured or killed and the number could rise further.
A hospital in Kabul tweeted that 27 people were “waiting at our hospital so far after an explosion in the PD17 area”. “Five children among them, including a seven-year-old,” she added.
Last week a prominent pro-Taliban cleric was killed in a suicide bombing, also in Kabul. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.