Afghan security personnel gather after a massive suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Kabul on November 21, 2016 (AFP Photo/Shah Marai)

Kabul (AFP) - A massive suicide blast targeting Shiites killed at least 27 people and wounded 35 as worshippers gathered at a Kabul mosque Monday, officials said, the latest sectarian attack to rock the Afghan capital. It is not yet clear who was behind the blast but Afghanistan’s Shia have faced a series of sectarian attacks in recent months claimed by the Islamic State Sunni Muslim militant group. Last month, it also claimed an attack in which 18 people were killed when a gunman in police uniform opened fire on worshippers gathered at a shrine in Kabul for Ashura, one of the holiest occasions in the Shi’ite calendar. More than 30 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, in the latest in a series of attacks targeting the country’s Shia community. Any resurgence of sectarian or ethnic violence could threaten the fragile stability of the government headed by president Ashraf Ghani, who described the “vicious attack” as an attempt “to sow seeds of discord”.
At least 32 people are killed and another 80 injured in a suicide bombing at a Kabul Shia mosque. ISIL claims responsibility.