18 killed in Afghan mosque blast

A huge bomb blast Friday at one of the biggest mosques in western Afghanistan killed at least 18 people, including an influential imam who earlier this year called for those who commit “the smallest act” against the government to be beheaded.

Images posted on Twitter showed what appeared to be blood-stained bodies scattered around the compound of Gazargah Mosque in Herat city.

Violence has largely declined since the Taliban returned to power last year, but several bomb blasts — some targeting minority communities — have rocked the country in recent months, many claimed by the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group. At least 18 people were killed and 23 wounded in Friday’s blast, said Hameedullah Motawakel, spokesman for the governor of Herat province, in a text message to media. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, the imam of the mosque, was among the dead.