Suicide bomber kills 40 at Afghan mosque
A suicide bomber killed at least 40 people in a mosque in Afghanistan's relatively peaceful north today as worshippers gathered for prayers marking the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, police officials said.
The attack in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, also wounded 40, regional police chief General Abdul Khaliq Aqsai said, pinning the blame on the Taliban. A Taliban spokesman said they were investigating to find out who was responsible.
"The suicide bomber detonated explosives when our countrymen were congratulating each other on the Eid holiday," said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, spokesman for the police in the Afghan north, adding that almost half of the dead were police.
He said Aqsai appeared to be the target. "As soon as the police chief got in his vehicle, the bomber detonated his explosives," Ahmadzai said.
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