UPDATES WITH CORRECTION AS DEATH TOLL REVISED DOWN TO SEVEN, 17 INJURED; CHANGES HEADLINE, INTRO
By Anadolu staff
ISTANBUL (AA) - At least seven people were killed and 17 others injured in a suicide blast targeting a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday, according to local media.
The explosion occurred at the Takiakhana Imam Zaman mosque in the city of Pol-e-Khomri, the capital of Baghlan province, during congregational Friday prayers.
Mustafa Hashemi, director of Baghlan Information and Culture Department, told Kabul-based broadcaster Tolo News that the incident was a "suicide attack" in which "seven people were killed and 17 were injured."
Harkat-e-Islami Afghanistan, a political party, had said earlier that “15 to 20 worshipers have been martyred in this tragic incident.”
Most of those attending prayers were from the Shia sect.
Shia-majority Iran's Consulate in Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif condemned the attack.