Following the fatal attack on Shi'ite mosque:
Taliban pledge to step up security in Afghanistan

Taliban authorities pledged to step up security at Shi'ite mosques as hundreds of people gathered on Saturday to bury the victims of the second Islamic State suicide attack on worshippers in a week.

Iran PressAsia: ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on the Fatima mosque in Kandahar that saw a group of suicide bombers shoot their way into the mosque before blowing themselves up among the worshippers during Friday prayers.

A health official said the casualty toll from the attack stood at 62 dead and 70 wounded but could rise further, adding: "Some of the wounded are in a critical condition and we are trying to transfer them to Kabul," Reuters reported.

On Saturday, large crowds gathered to bury the white-shrouded victims in a mass grave in the southern city of Kandahar.

 

 

The head of Kandahar police said units would be assigned to protect the Shi'ite mosques which have so far been guarded by local volunteer forces with special permission to carry weapons.

Hundreds of people were killed and injured in a bomb blast at a Shia mosque in Kunduz last Friday. 

Related news:

Kandahar mosque attack casualties reach 62 killed, 70 injured

 

The attack on the Fatima mosque, the largest Shi'ite mosque in Kandahar, also known as the Imam Bargah mosque, came a week after a similar attack on a mosque in the northern city of Kunduz, which killed as many as 80 people.

Since the Taliban seized power in August, Islamic State has conducted dozens of operations, from small-scale attacks on Taliban targets to large-scale operations such as Friday's suicide bombing, killing scores of civilians.

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