Afghan mosque attack 'mastermind' arrested by Taliban, says police
Mazar e sharif
Police in Afghanistan said on Friday that the Taliban had arrested a suspected mastermind of the Afghan mosque attack. The suspect is reportedly an Islamic State (IS) militant. IS has claimed responsibility for the blast in a Shiite mosque in Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. The blast took place on Thursday (April 21) during midday prayers. 58 people were wounded.
Balkh province's police spokesman Asif Waziri said Abdul Hamid Sangaryar was a key operative of IS.
"He was the mastermind of yesterday's attack on the mosque," Waziri told AFP.
The country's interior ministry also reported the arrest of Sangaryar, an Afghan national.
"He played a key role in several attacks in the past and had repeatedly managed to escape, but this time we arrested him in a special operation," Waziri said.
IS also claimed a separate bomb attack in another northern city of Kunduz on Thursday that killed four people and wounded 18 people.
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Though the Taliban have assumed power in Afghanistan, the Islamic State has carried out periodic attacks and act of terrorism. Shiite Afghans have been target of the IS which considers them heretics.
The Taliban have stepped up security around mosques in Kabul after Thursday's blasts. Worshippers attending Friday prayers in the holy month of Ramzaan are being frisked by Taliban fighters before they are allowed to enter the mosques.
(With inputs from agencies)