'Multiple casualties' after powerful explosion hits Kabul mosque

Fast News

Kabul's Emergency Hospital said on Twitter they had received 27 patients wounded in the blast, including a seven-year-old child.

Police said there were multiple casualties but did not say how many. (Reuters Archive)

A huge explosion has struck a mosque in Kabul during evening prayers, witnesses and police have said, with many feared dead or injured.

Police said on Wednesday there were multiple casualties but did not say how many.

One Taliban intelligence official told Reuters news agency that as many as 35 people may have been wounded or killed, and the toll could rise further. 

Kabul's Emergency Hospital said on Twitter they had received 27 patients wounded in the blast, including a seven-year-old child.

Witnesses told Reuters the powerful explosion was heard in a northern Kabul neighbourhood, shattering windows in nearby buildings. Ambulances were rushed to the spot.

"A blast happened inside a mosque...the blast has casualties, but the numbers are not clear yet," Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran told Reuters.

The Taliban intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the explosion occurred in a mosque among worshippers in Khair Khana area of Kabul.

The Imam of the mosque was among those killed and the toll could still rise, the source added. Intelligence teams were at blast site and investigations were ongoing.

Other officials in the Taliban government did not reply to multiple requests to confirm the number of casualties.

READ MORE: Blast hits busy shopping street in Kabul, several injured

Source: Reuters

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Casualties reported after Ukraine strikes base used by Russia-affiliated mercenary group

Casualties reported after Ukraine strikes base used by Russia-affiliated mercenary group
Source https://www.globalcourant.com/casualties-reported-after-ukraine-strikes-base-used-by-russia-affiliated-mercenary-group/?feed_id=11455&_unique_id=62fb082b0014b

Multiple casualties as boat sailing from Tunisia to Italy capsizes

Fast News

Boat carrying 30 Tunisian nationals sinks off Tunisia's coast, drowning three women and three children, local media report.

Tunisia and neighbouring Libya are key departure points for migrants and refugees seeking to reach European shores. (AP)

Six people have died off the coast of Tunisia after a boat carrying 30 Tunisian nationals capsized. 

Those drowned included three women and three children, state news agency TAP reported on Tuesday. The boat capsized as it was attempting to sail from Tunisia to Italy. 

The Tunisian coast guard and navy were able to rescue 20 people, while the search for other survivors is ongoing.

READ MORE: Dozens missing in Mediterranean as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia

#Tunisia: the bodies of 6 #Tunisian migrants: 3 children & 3 women were recovered, 20 were rescued & search is on for others by Coast Guard, Navy & Civil Protection units, after a boat carrying around 30 people & crossing illegally to #Italy sank off #Kraten, #Kerkennah. #TAP_En pic.twitter.com/RMaAjKQ3Af

— TAP news agency (@TapNewsAgency) August 9, 2022

Deadly crossings 

Tunisia and neighbouring Libya are key departure points for migrants and refugees seeking to reach European shores, often in vessels that are barely seaworthy.

The Italian island of Lampedusa is only about 130 kilometres from Tunisia's coast.

Nearly 2,000 migrants drowned or went missing in the Mediterranean in 2021, compared to 1,401 in 2020,  according to the International Organization for Migration. 

READ MORE: Dozen dead, many missing as refugee boats sink off Tunisia

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/multiple-casualties-as-boat-sailing-from-tunisia-to-italy-capsizes/?feed_id=8830&_unique_id=62f2eae54f89c