High-profile cleric killed in explosion at mosque in Herat, Afghanistan

High-profile cleric killed in explosion at mosque in Herat, Afghanistan

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A huge bomb blast at one of western Afghanistan’s largest mosques on Friday killed its influential imam, who earlier this year called for those who commit “the smallest act” against the government to be beheaded.

Pictures and images posted to Twitter appeared to show blood-stained bodies scattered around the Gazargah Mosque compound in the city of Herat, and local media said many casualties were feared.

Violence has declined since the Taliban returned to power last year, but multiple bombings – some targeting minorities – have rocked the country in recent months, many of which are alleged by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). .

Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Mujib ur Rahman Ansari was killed in Friday’s blast.

“The country’s strong and courageous religious scholar was martyred in a brutal attack,” he said on Twitter.

Ansari was an influential cleric known for his fiery speeches.

In July, during a religious gathering in Kabul, he called for the beheading of those who commit “the smallest act against our Islamic government.”

“This (Taliban) flag was not lightly raised and it will not be lightly lowered,” he said.

Ansari is the second pro-Taliban cleric to be killed in an explosion in less than a month after Rahimullah Haqqani died in a suicide bombing at his madrasa in Kabul.

Haqqani was known for angry speeches against ISIS, which later claimed responsibility for his death.

He had also advocated for girls to be allowed to attend secondary school, despite government bans on them in most provinces.

Several mosques across the country have been attacked this year, some as part of attacks alleged by ISIS.

At least 21 people were killed and dozens more injured when an explosion swept through a mosque full of worshipers in Kabul on August 17.

IS primarily targets minorities such as Shiites, Sufis and Sikhs.

While IS is a Sunni Islamist group like the Taliban, the two are bitter rivals and ideologically far apart.

Government officials claim ISIS has been defeated, but experts say the group is the biggest security challenge for the country’s Islamist rulers.

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