Explosion at Kabul Mosque Leaves Several Civilians Dead, Taliban Say

A bomb attack targeting the funeral prayer service for the mother of the Taliban’s chief spokesman killed at least three people in Kabul’s main mosque Sunday afternoon, in the first major militant strike on the Afghan capital since U.S. forces withdrew in August.

The Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, and other members of the Taliban leadership were inside the mosque and weren’t hurt in the bombing, which occurred at the entrance to the Eid Gah Mosque in the heart of Kabul, officials said. The death toll was likely to increase.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Islamic State-Khorasan Province, a regional affiliate of Islamic State, is the only significant militant group operating in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on Aug. 15 and deposed the U.S.-backed Afghan republic. ISKP carried out a string of attacks on the Taliban in the eastern city of Jalalabad in recent weeks, and in August killed 13 U.S. service members and some 200 Afghans at the entrance to the Kabul airport.