KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan officials say 48 people have been killed in a suicide bombing targeting Shiite worshippers in Kabul.
The attacker blew himself up Tuesday in the midst of a crowd of men, women and children gathered outside the Abul Fazl shrine to commemorate the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein.
Mohammed Zahir, chief of the Kabul Criminal Investigation Department, gave the death toll and said more than 100 people were wounded.
Officials say four other people were killed when a bomb strapped to a bicycle exploded as a convoy of Afghan Shiites drove by in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck a crowd of Shiite worshippers marking a holy day Tuesday in the Afghan capital as at least 20 people were killed in an unprecedented wave of violence against the minority Islamic sect in Afghanistan.
The Kabul attacker blew himself up in the midst of a crowd of men, women and children gathered outside the Abul Fazl shrine to commemorate the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein. Some men were beating themselves in mourning and food was being distributed.
A bomb strapped to a bicycle also exploded as a convoy of Afghan Shiites was driving down the road, shouting slogans for the festival known as Ashoura, in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Sayed Kabir Amiri, an official in charge of Kabul hospitals, said at least 16 people killed and more than 100 were wounded in Kabul. At least four were killed and 21 wounded in the Mazar-i-Sharif attack, said Sakhi Kargar, a spokesman for the health ministry.
Religiously motivated attacks on Shiites are rare in Afghanistan although they are common in neighboring Pakistan. No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blasts, reminiscent of the wave of sectarian attacks that shook Iraq during the height of the war there.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, speaking at a news conference after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, said the attack was unprecedented in scope.
He said it was "the first time that on such an important religious day in Afghanistan terrorism of that horrible nature is taking place."
Mohammad Bakir Shaikzada, the top Shiite cleric in Kabul, said he could not remember a similar attack having taken place on such a scale.
"This is a crime against Muslims during the holy day of Ashoura. We Muslims will never forget these attacks. It is the enemy of the Muslims who are carrying them out," he said, declining to place blame.
The last incident of violence between Shiites and Sunnis following the U.S. invasion 10 years ago occurred in early 2006, during Ashoura commemorations in the western city of Herat. During those riots, blamed on Islamic extremists, five people were killed and more than 50 injured.
Mahood Khan, who is in charge of the Abul Fazl shrine, said the explosion occurred just outside a courtyard where dozens of worshippers were lined up as they filed in and out of the packed building.
A few minutes after the blast, bodies could be seen loaded into the trunks of cars while wounded were led away by friends and relatives. Survivors wept in the streets.
"It was a very powerful blast," Khan said. "The food was everywhere. It was out of control. Everyone was crying, shouting. It is a disaster."
Mustafa, a shopkeeper, said he and his mother were delivering food to the worshippers when the blast occurred. Two groups of 150 to 200 people from Kabul had just prayed at the shrine and left.
Another group of more than 100 from Logar province was entering when the explosion occurred. He said the suicide bomber was at the end of the line of worshippers from Logar when he blew himself up near one of the gates to the shrine.
"It was very loud. My ears went deaf and I was blown 3 meters (yards)," said Mustafa, who uses only one name. "There was smoke and red blood on the floor of the shrine. There were people lying everywhere."
The shrine's loudspeaker continued to blast a recitation of the Quran as ambulances carried bodies and wounded away. Women stood outside the shrine wailing and holding crying children.
The mosque had been packed with worshippers and a large crowd that could not fit inside were gathered outside the building. The bomber walked into this crowd and detonated his explosives, said witness Mohammad Sharif.
The shrine is close to the palace where Karzai lives and who is in Europe to attend an international conference on Afghanistan. It is named after Abul Fazl, who was an adviser to a 14th century Mogul emperor. The shrine and its blue minaret is one of Kabul's better known landmarks. It is located in Murad Khane area near the Kabul river, a district that has been listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of its 100 most endangered sites of cultural heritage.
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David Rising contributed from Berlin, Deb Riechmann, Heidi Vogt and Patrick Quinn from Kabul.
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