15 killed as explosions rock mosque in Afghanistan

Kabul, Aug 3 (IANS) At least 15 people were killed and more than 50 others wounded after two explosions ripped through a mosque in Afghanistan's Gardez city on Friday.

The blasts took place at 1.30 p.m. when people were offering Friday prayers inside Imam-e-Zaman Mosque in Police District 2 of the city, which is the capital of eastern Paktia province, a police officer told Xinhua news agency.

"The preliminary information and initial findings of our police showed that two back to back blasts struck when people were inside the mosque. So far, we have no more details but the number of casualties may change as the victims were shifted to different hospitals across the city," the officer said.

Security forces cordoned off the area for precautionary measures in Khowja Hassan neighbourhood mostly dominated by Shia Afghans.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)