ICYMI: A blast outside a mosque in the city of #Herat in western #Afghanistan has killed at least 18 people including a high-profile pro-Taliban cleric.https://t.co/75e4GRa9Ib
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) September 2, 2022
A blast outside a mosque in the city of Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
in western Afghanistan on Friday killed at least 18 people including a high-profile pro-Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...holy man in what authorities said was an attack.
"18 have been killed and 23 have been injured," front man for the interior ministry Abdul Nafi Takor told Rooters.
Herat’s police front man Mahmood Rasoli said that Mujib Rahman Ansari - the pro-Taliban holy man - was among the dead along with some of his guards and civilians as they approached the mosque for Friday prayers.
Al Jazeera Media Network, citing unnamed sources, said 28 people had been killed and 45 injured.
The Taliban’s spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, in a tweet expressed "strong condolences" over Ansari’s death and said his attackers would be punished.
Mujib Rahman Ansari had spoken strongly in defense of the Taliban at a large gathering of thousands of scholars and elders organized by the group in late June, condemning anyone who stood against their administration.
The Taliban say they have improved security in the country since taking power around a year ago, but there have been several blasts in recent months, some of them targeting busy mosques during prayers.
The United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
has raised concerns about the growing number of attacks and some blasts have been claimed by a local branch of ISIS.
The was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s explosion.
| Khaama Press has a photo of the formerly living cleric, adding: |
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, leaving at least 20 people dead, according to local sources.
The explosion occurred inside the mosque where Mawlawi Ansari was leading Friday prayers, according to a Taliban spokesman, who also said that those responsible for the deadly act will be held responsible and punished.
| Tolo News has video of Mawlawi Ansari preaching, and provides some of his history: |
Ansari was born in 1362 (solar year) in Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
and received his education there and later went on to become the imam of Guzargah mosque in Herat.
He was targeted and killed by a suicide kaboom that took place inside the Guzargah mosque during the Friday prayers.
He was one of the famous critics of the former republic government of Afghanistan.
"We were struggling for the freedom of the country, today we are struggling for the reconstruction of the country," Ansari recently told a gathering of people in Herat.
He studied Islamic education at Ansar Darul Uloom in Herat.
Ansari become a public figure after he and his followers prevented a music concert in Herat in 1391 (solar year).
"If anyone makes any small movement against the current government-- I am junior and younger than all of these Ulema (Islamic holy mans)-- if so all of the Ulema, all over Afghanistan should reach out to give the Fatwa (order) to behead those who stand against the Islamic Emirate, and they should be eliminated," he told a gathering of Islamic holy mans in Kabul.
He was also the head of a radio station called "Ansar" in Herat province.
| The Afghan Digest indirectly suggests this is the work of ISIS-K. |