Bombing at mosque in Afghanistan kills 14, wounds 33

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the group’s involvement. “We reject any kind of involvement in this incident,” he said.

Both the Taliban and a local affiliate of the Islamic State group reject democratic elections and have targeted them in the past. IS is not known to have a presence in Khost, but has expanded its footprint into other areas in recent years.

Last month, an Islamic State suicide bomber attacked a voter registration centre in Kabul, killing 60 people and wounding at least 130 others.

The Taliban and IS have launched a relentless wave of attacks since the start of the year, killing scores of civilians in the capital, Kabul, and elsewhere. Afghan security forces have struggled to combat the groups since the U.S. and NATO concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to a counterterrorism and support role.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a vehicle carrying shopkeepers on their way to a market struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s northern Faryab province, killing seven of them. Police spokesman Karim Yuresh said another civilian was wounded in Sunday’s attack, in an area where both the Taliban and IS are active.

In the eastern Paktia province, a car bomb killed two people and wounded another three. Abdullah Hsart, the provincial governor’s spokesman, said the attack late Saturday targeted Hazart Mohammad Rodwal, a district chief, who was among the wounded. The Taliban claimed the attack.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Bombing at mosque in Afghanistan kills 14, wounds 33

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