Bomb kills 29, wounds 100 in Nangarhar mosque

KABUL (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in a mosque in eastern Afghanistan during Friday prayers, officials said, killing at least 29 men who had gathered for worship. Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the provincial council in Nangarhar, said at least 29 people had been killed and more than 100 others wounded. “The number of casualties may rise as the rescue team and people are working to bring out the bodies from the rubble,” Qaderi added. Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for Nangarhar’s provincial governor, said the roof of the mosque had fallen in due to the blast and so far more than 20 were reported dead. No militant group has claimed responsibility so far. A doctor at a hospital in Haska Mina said that "around" 32 bodies had been brought in, along with 50 wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Both the Taliban and the Daesh group are active in Nangarhar province. The blast came after the United Nations released a new report on Thursday saying that an "unprecedented" number of civilians were killed or wounded in Afghanistan from July to September. Civilians have long borne the brunt of violence in Afghanistan´s conflict, and the UN called the casualties "totally unacceptable". The UN laid the blame mainly at the feet of anti-government elements such as Daesh and the Taliban, though it also documented an alarming rise in casualties caused by pro-government forces.