Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned early on Saturday the attack which targeted a mosque in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province during Friday prayers, killing at least 62 worshippers.
According to Afghani officials, dozens have been injured after multiple explosions rocked the mosque, in the year’s second-deadliest attack and the toll could rise.
“Both men and children are among those killed and wounded in the attack,” said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar Province.
Egypt described the attack as a “terrorist” attack.
“23 of the wounded were transferred to Jalalabad, the provincial capital, and the rest were being treated in a Haska Mena clinic,” said Zahir Adil, a spokesman for the public health department in Nangarhar province.
The statement asserted that Egypt stands with the Afghan government and people in the fight against terrorism, sending condolences to the victims’ relatives and hoping speedy recoveries for those who were injured in the attack.
Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, strongly condemned the attack saying, “the Afghan government strongly condemns today’s suicide attack in a mosque in Nangarhar province.”
Accusing the Afghani radical movement, Sediqqi added in a post on Twitter that “the Taliban and their partners [in] heinous crimes continue to target civilians in time of worship.”
Denying the accusations, Suhail Shaheen, spokesperson for the Taliban, denied responsibility for the attack.
In his tweet, Shaheen said, “all witnesses say it was a mortar attack by Kabul Adm. [Administration] forces.”
On Thursday, a United Nations report said that pro-government forces caused 2,348 civilian casualties, including 1,149 killed, and 1,199 wounded, a 26% increase from the same period in 2018.
