At least 20 feared dead in Kabul bomb blast, several more injured

A massive explosion ripped through a mosque in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. At least 20 people are feared dead with several injured. This is the latest bomb blast to have hit Afghanistan as the country saw one year anniversary of the Taliban coming back to power. 

Blast in #Kabul Mosque kills 20, leaves 40 injured. @ashraf_wani with more details #ITVideo pic.twitter.com/PGjLwNhQQl

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 18, 2022

Here are the latest updates on the Kabul blast:

Where: The bomb blast took place at the Siddiquiya Mosque located in Kabul. 

When: The blast took place on August 17, 2022, during evening prayers when the mosque was packed with people. 

Who: It is suspected to be a suicide bombing, but so far no group in Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the attack. 

How many were killed: There is no official statement on the number of casualties, but reports quoting unnamed Taliban and other sources say the dead are anywhere between 20 and 35. Among the dead are also children. 

At least a dozen people killed and over 20 injured in a huge blast in a mosque in the Afghan capital #Kabul this evening. pic.twitter.com/8pzm4ZxIMM

— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) August 17, 2022

A prominent cleric Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli has reportedly been killed in the attack. He is said to have been the target of the attack. Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli was known to be close to the Taliban. According to the BBC, Kabuli was an adherent of the more moderate form of Islam - the Sufi faith. 

Alert: Islamic State Khorasan linked channels are celebrating the explosion in the Siddiqiya Mosque of Maulvi Amir Mohammad Kabuli in Kabul, claiming that scholar, Maulvi Amir Mohammad Kabuli, has been killed in the explosion. pic.twitter.com/bfJj72Qufj

— The Khorasan Diary (@khorasandiary) August 17, 2022

Injured: Several more have been injured in the attack including at least 5 children, who were rushed to hospitals nearby. 

What did the Taliban say: Afghanistan's Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted about the blast condemning the attack and vowing to punish the perpetrators. 

د افغانستان اسلامي امارت د کابل په خیرخانه سیمه کې په یوه مسجد کې چاودنه په کلکو ټکو غندي.
شهیدانوته جنة الفردوس، زخمیانوته شفا او خپلوانوته یې صبرجمیل غواړي.
د عامو خلکو قاتلین او د داسې جنایاتو عاملین به ډیر ژر نیول کیږي او د خپلو شومو اعمالو په سزا به رسیږي. ان شاءالله

— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) August 17, 2022

Context: The Taliban celebrated one year anniversary of their returning to power on August 15, 2022. However, the anniversary was marred by a series of attacks on the Taliban's prominent leaders. Last week, a prominent cleric and ideologue close to the Taliban - Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani - was killed in a suicide blast in Kabul. Haqqani (not from the infamous Haqqani network) is said to have been in favour of women's education in Afghanistan. 

Religious cleric Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani was killed, said Bilal Karimi, dep. spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, on Twitter. Reportedly Haqqani died today in a blast at his seminary in Kabul: Afghanistan's TOLO news pic.twitter.com/MFk8erFBaU

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2022

The IS-K (Islamic State Khorasan Province), an Islamic State-affiliated group operating in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. It is possible that Wednesday's attack was also a doing of the IS. 

While the US withdrawal from Afghanistan ended a 20-year-long phase of the war, the Taliban's takeover only ushered in another phase of war in the country suffering from 4 decades of endless war and bloodshed. Taliban has been fighting several of its rivals in Afghanistan, who all want power in the country. Taliban's most deadly rivalry is with the global terrorist group IS. ISIS has also targetted other minority communities in Afghanistan recently like the Shia Hazaras and Sikhs. 

ISIS wants to establish a global caliphate. The Islamic State believes that the Taliban is a 'nationalist' group preoccupied with forming a government within Afghanistan's boundaries. 

On the other hand, the Taliban government in Afghanistan is not recognised by countries around the world. This has meant that all aid funds have been frozen. Poverty in Afghanistan has risen sharply. NBC News reports that "at least 43% of the population is living on less than one meal a day and 97% of Afghans are expected to be living below the poverty line by the end of this year".