[h=3]By YAROSLAV TROFIMOV And HABIB KHAN TOTAKHIL[/h]KABUL – A massive explosion ripped through a mosque in the northern Afghan province of Faryab on Friday, killing at least 40 people, as the provincial leadership gathered there for prayers to mark the Eid al Adha Islamic holiday, Afghan officials said.
The suicide bomber was wearing a police uniform, and struck at the gate of the mosque in the city of Maimana once the worshippers were leaving the prayer. About half of the fatalities in the blast were members of Afghan security forces, including two local commanders of the elite Afghan police units, police officials said.
"The road was colored with blood, and bodies were everywhere," said
Associated PressA boy who lost his father in the suicide attack walks around a hospital in a daze in Maimana, Faryab province, Afghanistan, Oct. 26.
The provincial police chief was among the dozens of wounded while Faryab's governor, who left the mosque through another exit, was unhurt, officials said. The dead also included at least five children.
Friday's bombing took place as Afghans around the country celebrated the Eid, the festival of sacrifice when families slaughter sheep for celebratory meals and government offices are closed. Mullah
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Maimana attack by the Taliban leadership, and Taliban spokesmen – usually quick to claim credit for attacks -- did not return messages seeking comment.
But
Afghan security forces took full responsibility for Faryab from Norwegian coalition troops last month, as part of the transition process that foresees transferring security control over the entire country by 2014, the year when the coalition's current mandate ends. The Taliban have recently intensified attacks in these "transitioned" provinces, testing the ability of Afghan forces to maintain security on their own.
A volatile province that borders Turkmenistan, Faryab is beset by ethnic tensions between local Tajik and Uzbek communities. Much of Faryab's Taliban movement, predominantly ethnic Pashtun in the rest of the country, is made up of Uzbek militants.
Earlier this week, Afghan security forces killed the Taliban's shadow governor for Faryab, in the province's Pashtunkot district. Mr. Mohammad and these fighters were mostly Uzbek, and many residents of Faryab expected a revenge operation by the remaining militants.
"They openly wanted to avenge the death of their governor, and they wanted to kill Faryab's governor," said Naqebullah Fayeq, a national parliament member from the province who witnessed Friday's attack. "There wasn't proper security in the mosque, and the government was reckless about Taliban's threat."
In other attacks in the country on Friday, a roadside bomb killed one person in the eastern province of Laghman. In the western province of Farah, an insurgent gunman tried to shoot the provincial head of the
The suicide bomber was wearing a police uniform, and struck at the gate of the mosque in the city of Maimana once the worshippers were leaving the prayer. About half of the fatalities in the blast were members of Afghan security forces, including two local commanders of the elite Afghan police units, police officials said.
"The road was colored with blood, and bodies were everywhere," said
The provincial police chief was among the dozens of wounded while Faryab's governor, who left the mosque through another exit, was unhurt, officials said. The dead also included at least five children.
Friday's bombing took place as Afghans around the country celebrated the Eid, the festival of sacrifice when families slaughter sheep for celebratory meals and government offices are closed. Mullah
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Maimana attack by the Taliban leadership, and Taliban spokesmen – usually quick to claim credit for attacks -- did not return messages seeking comment.
But
Afghan security forces took full responsibility for Faryab from Norwegian coalition troops last month, as part of the transition process that foresees transferring security control over the entire country by 2014, the year when the coalition's current mandate ends. The Taliban have recently intensified attacks in these "transitioned" provinces, testing the ability of Afghan forces to maintain security on their own.
A volatile province that borders Turkmenistan, Faryab is beset by ethnic tensions between local Tajik and Uzbek communities. Much of Faryab's Taliban movement, predominantly ethnic Pashtun in the rest of the country, is made up of Uzbek militants.
Earlier this week, Afghan security forces killed the Taliban's shadow governor for Faryab, in the province's Pashtunkot district. Mr. Mohammad and these fighters were mostly Uzbek, and many residents of Faryab expected a revenge operation by the remaining militants.
"They openly wanted to avenge the death of their governor, and they wanted to kill Faryab's governor," said Naqebullah Fayeq, a national parliament member from the province who witnessed Friday's attack. "There wasn't proper security in the mosque, and the government was reckless about Taliban's threat."
In other attacks in the country on Friday, a roadside bomb killed one person in the eastern province of Laghman. In the western province of Farah, an insurgent gunman tried to shoot the provincial head of the