'Multiple casualties' after powerful explosion hits Kabul mosque

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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

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/multiple-casualties-after-powerful-explosion-hits-kabul-mosque/?feed_id=12239&_unique_id=62fd35a2852a0

Deadly shooting: Witness carried boy, 9, to clinic after mom and son shot in car outside Midrand mosque

A mother and son were shot outside Nizamiye Mosque in Midrand, Johannesburg.

• A 9-year-old boy died after sustaining gunshot wounds on Tuesday.
• His 41-year-old mother had fetched him and his sister, 13, when two men fired at them.
• The 13-year-old was unharmed, while the woman was receiving medical treatment in hospital.

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A parent who witnessed the shooting of a 9-year-old boy and his mother outside the Nizamiye Mosque in Midrand, Johannesburg, carried the child's bloodied body to the school clinic to save his life, but he succumbed to his wounds shortly thereafter.

Two unknown assailants shot the Grade 3 pupil and his mother, 41, multiple times on Tuesday afternoon.

The woman had fetched her son and daughter, 13, from school when the men fired several shots at them and their vehicle.

The girl was unharmed.

When New24 arrived at Nizamiye Primary and High School, the scene had been cleared. Law enforcement officers and forensic experts had finalised their preliminary investigation and were seen leaving the premises.

They said they were not able to share any details about the incident.

'Everybody is shaken'

School principal Ramzi Hasanli told News24 he was not at the school when the deadly shooting occurred about 100 metres from the main gate.

He said parents who had come to fetch their children and pupils witnessed the incident.

"One of the parents who witnessed the shooting carried the body [of the 9-year-old boy] to the clinic. The child died at the clinic, and [forensic experts have] now taken him for a post-mortem investigation. Everybody is shaken. It's very tragic," said Hasanli.

According to Hasanli, the 13-year-old girl is a Grade 7 pupil at the school. She was safe and with her relatives.

Due to the sensitivity of the investigation, and to protect the identity of the 13-year-old pupil, her mother and brother cannot be identified.

The 41-year-old woman is being treatment at a Johannesburg hospital for gunshot wounds.

Hasanli said none of the eyewitnesses recognised the vehicle used by the assailants and they could not confirm how many gunshots were fired.

He said there were five visible gunshots to the woman's vehicle.

He said teaching would continue through the week and that pupils who had witnessed the incident would receive counselling from the South African Depression and Anxiety Group and the Department of Education's psychological unit.

"It will be difficult for working parents to make urgent arrangements to keep the children at home so the school will operate... In the next few days, we will discuss what [safety] measures will be taken," he said.

Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo said details of the shooting were sketchy. He said police were yet to arrest the two attackers who sped off after the shooting.

"A case of murder and attempted murder has been open for investigation," said Masondo.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/deadly-shooting-witness-carried-boy-9-to-clinic-after-mom-and-son-shot-in-car-outside-midrand-mosque/?feed_id=11987&_unique_id=62fc89eebe696