Blasts collapse roof at Afghan mosque, killing at least 62 at Friday prayers

KABUL: Multiple explosions at a mosque in eastern Afghanistan collapsed the roof on worshippers during Friday prayers, killing at least 62 and wounding more than 100, officials said.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for Nangarhar province’s governor, said bombs had been placed inside the mosque in the Jawdara area of Haska Mena district.

“People using an excavator are still working to bring out the bodies and injured from under the roof,” said Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the provincial council in Nangarhar, adding that the death toll was likely to rise.

Malik Mohammadi Gul Shinwari, a tribal elder from the area, said that the mosque had been destroyed.

“It was a heartbreaking scene I witnessed,” Shinwari said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the presidential palace, condemned what he said was a suicide bomb attack.

“All witnesses say it was a mortar attack by Kabul Adm.(Administration) forces,” he said in a tweet.

A U.N. report recorded 4,313 civilians killed and wounded in Afghanistan in the past three months.