Kabul mosque bombing attacks diplomatic area and kills top cleric

A well-known cleric and a worshipper were killed in a prayer-time bombing at a popular mosque in Kabul’s diplomatic zone on Tuesday, officials said.

No group immediately claimed the mosque explosion, which was denounced by a Taliban spokesman on Twitter.

The blast, which occurred at one of the city’s most famous places of worship, sent shockwaves through the sprawling zone, where alarms sounded at embassies and international offices, sending staff rushing into safe rooms.

“Unfortunately, this evening some explosives placed by terrorists in Wazir Akbar Khan mosque detonated,” interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said.

The mosque is in central Kabul at the main entrance to the diplomatic area and is accessible from both inside and outside the zone. Top leaders often pray there.

The mosque’s imam, Ayaz Niazi, was among those killed. He was famous in Kabul and his politically charged sermons were often so well attended that worshippers would spill into the grounds outside the mosque.

Arian said the attack was conducted by a suicide bomber, but that remains unclear.