Herat mosque blast 'kills many' in Afghanistan

An explosion at a mosque in the Afghan city of Herat has killed at least 20 people and injured dozens more.

The blast, which struck the Jawadia mosque, coincided with evening prayers at around 20:00 local time (15:30 GMT).

One doctor told the Associated Press news agency that 20 bodies had been transported to his hospital.

Officials said one attacker was a suicide bomber, and a second had been armed with a rifle. Both are dead, a local police spokesperson told AFP.

Reuters also reported grenades were thrown during the attack, citing local police.

A spokesperson for the regional governor told the BBC that the suicide attacker had opened fire inside the mosque before detonating his explosives.

He said around 30 people had been injured and casualty numbers were likely to rise.

The state broadcaster in neighbouring Iran, IRIB, said at least 30 were killed and 50 injured - and reported seven gunmen were involved. The report has yet to be confirmed by local sources in Afghanistan.

No group has said it was behind attack, which occurred in a predominantly Shia Muslim area.

Herat, close to the border with Iran, is considered one of Afghanistan's more peaceful cities.

The attack there comes one day after a battle at the Iraqi embassy in the capital, Kabul, which also saw gunmen launch an assault following a suicide explosion. So-called Islamic State (IS) said it had carried out that attack.

Areas dominated by Shia Muslims in Afghanistan have been hit by attacks repeatedly in the past year, by both IS and the Taliban.

Many of the casualties from all walks of live have been civilians, with injury numbers rising for the past five years amid increased attacks.

In May, a huge bombing in the centre of the city killed more than 150 people, the deadliest militant attack in the country since US-led forces ousted the Taliban from power in 2001. It is not clear what the intended target was.

Source: BBCNews