7 killed, 17 injured in Afghanistan suicide blast targeting mosque

At least seven people were killed and 17 others injured in a suicide blast targeting a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday, according to local media.

The explosion occurred at the Takiakhana Imam Zaman mosque in the city of Pol-e-Khomri, the capital of Baghlan province, during congregational Friday prayers.

Mustafa Hashemi, director of Baghlan Information and Culture Department, told Kabul-based broadcaster Tolo News that the incident was a "suicide attack" in which "seven people were killed and 17 were injured."

Harkat-e-Islami Afghanistan, a political party, had said earlier that “15 to 20 worshipers have been martyred in this tragic incident.”

Most of those attending prayers were from the Shia sect.

Shia-majority Iran's Consulate in Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif condemned the attack.