Two suicide bombers dressed as women struck a Shiite mosque in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers. “The death toll from Friday’s mosque attack in Gardez has jumped to 35 with 94 wounded,” Paktia governor Shamim Khan Katawazi told AFP. The Taliban denied involvement but in recent years the Islamic State group has carried out attacks on Shiites in Afghanistan. The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group. Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan — in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country.

Source: The Guardian August 04, 2018 12:00 UTC