Pro-Taliban cleric among 18 dead in Afghan mosque blast

KABUL, Sept 2 (Agencies): A blast outside a mosque in the city of Herat in western Afghanistan on Friday killed at least 18 people including a high-profile pro-Taliban cleric in what authorities said was an attack.

"18 have been killed and 23 have been injured," spokesman for the interior ministry Abdul Nafi Takor told Reuters.

Herat's police spokesman Mahmood Rasoli said that Mujib Rahman Ansari - the pro-Taliban cleric - was among the dead along with some of his guards and civilians as they approached the mosque for Friday prayers.

Ansari was an influential cleric known for his fiery speeches. He called earlier this year for those who commit "the smallest act" against the government to be beheaded.

Al Jazeera Media Network, citing unnamed sources, said 28 people had been killed and 45 injured.

The Taliban's spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, in a Tweet expressed "strong condolences" over Ansari's death and said his attackers would be punished.

Mujib Rahman Ansari had spoken strongly in defence of the Taliban at a large gathering of thousands of scholars and elders organised by the group in late June, condemning anyone who stood against their administration.

The Taliban say they have improved security in the country since taking power around a year ago, but there have been several blasts in recent months, some of them targeting busy mosques during prayers.

The United Nations has raised concerns about the growing number of attacks and some blasts have been claimed by a local branch of the Islamic State.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's explosion.

Images and pictures posted on Twitter showed what appeared to be blood-stained bodies scattered around the compound of Gazargah Mosque in Herat city, and local media said many casualties were feared.

Violence has declined since the Taliban returned to power last year, but several bomb blasts -- some targeting minority communities -- have rocked the country in recent months, many claimed by the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group.

Ansari is the second pro-Taliban cleric to be killed in a blast in less than a month, after Rahimullah Haqqani died in a suicide attack at his madrassa in Kabul.

Haqqani was known for angry speeches against IS, who later claimed responsibility for his death.

He had also spoken in favour of girls being allowed to attend secondary school, despite the government banning them from attending classes in most provinces.

Several mosques across

the country have been targeted this year, some in attacks claimed by IS.

At least 21 people were killed and dozens more wounded on August 17 when a blast ripped through a mosque packed with worshippers in Kabul.

IS has primarily targeted minority communities such as Shiites, Sufis and Sikhs.

While IS is a Sunni Islamist group like the Taliban, the two are bitter rivals and greatly diverge on ideological grounds.

Government officials claim that IS has been defeated but experts say the group is the main security challenge for the country's Islamist rulers.