Breaking News: Gunman Storms Mosque, Kills 10 Worshipers During Evening Prayers

Posted by Samuel on Fri 20th Oct, 2017 - tori.ng

A man armed with a gun has stormed a mosque, opening fire and killing as many as ten persons dead in the horrific attack.

File photo used only for illustrative purpose

It has been revealed that at least 10 people were killed when a gunman opened fire on worshippers in a Shiite mosque in Kabul.

The sad incident occurred on Friday as they gathered for evening prayers, officials said. It is the latest attack to hit the Afghan capital.

According to Agence France Presse, AFP, Kabul Crime Branch chief General Mohammad Salim Almas said an attacker "entered the mosque in Police District 13 of Kabul city... (and) opened fire on worshippers,"

He described the gunman as a suicide bomber.

A health ministry spokesman told AFP that 10 bodies had been taken to hospitals in the city but that figure could change.

Eyewitnesses told local media that more than 30 people had been killed and around 50 others wounded in the attack but those figures could not be immediately verified.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid said there had been an explosion inside the mosque but it was not clear if it had been caused by a suicide bomber or a grenade.

"There were casualties and they were taken to the hospital," Mujahid told AFP.

"We do not know many were killed and wounded."

A spokesperson for the interior ministry said the explosion happened at the Imam Zaman mosque in the west of the city in a Shiite neighbourhood.

"Investigative teams have been deployed. The cause and nature of the explosion have not been determined yet," the spokesperson told AFP.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but recent assaults on Shiite mosques have been carried out by Islamic State militants, who belong to the rival Sunni branch of Islam.