Hamidullah Motawakil, Taliban’s spokesperson for Herat governor, announced that 18 people have been killed and 23 wounded in the explosion in Gazargah mosque. But local sources say that number of casualties nearly reach 100 people.
Mawlawi Mujib-ur Rahman Ansari, his brother and 13 of his bodyguards are among the dead.
Taliban Police Command in Herat said that Mawlawi Mujib-ur Rahman Ansari has been killed in a suicide attack at Herat's Gazargah Mosque. Ansari was on his way to the mosque to offer Friday prayers, and a suicide bomber blew himself up while greeting him, the command confirmed.
According to the local Taliban officials, Ansari’s companions have also been killed.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson of the Taliban, also confirmed that Ansari was targeted while performing Friday prayers.
The Taliban police in Herat, however, did not mention the exact number of casualties.
According to local sources, Ansari's brother and 13 of his bodyguards are also among the dead.
Local sources reported an explosion at a mosque in Gazargah area of Herat city. The target of the explosion was, reportedly, Mawlawi Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, Imam of Gazargah Mosque.
So far, conflicting reports have been published about the death of this Mawlawi. A source confirmed to Afghanistan International that Mawalwi Ansari's body was taken to the 600-bed hospital in Herat city.
Ansari was a loud critic of the previous government of Afghanistan and a supporter of the Taliban. Earlier in 2022, at a meeting of Taliban scholars in Kabul, he had said that "anyone standing against the current government [the Taliban government], should be beheaded".
At the Taliban’s Ulema gathering in Kabul, Ansari had declared his strong support for the Taliban.
Ansari was the Imam of Herat Gazargah Mosque. His sharp statements on the current affairs of Afghanistan and on Afghanistan’s sects were always in the news.
Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul, said that regional and international understanding is needed for Pakistan to recognise the Taliban government. Khan urged the Taliban government not to allow terrorist groups to operate in Afghanistan.
Despite the Taliban’s efforts for recognition, even Pakistan, which is one of the main allies of the group, has not recognised them.
Taliban claims that they have changed their policies and behaviour and have met major international demands.
The Taliban stressed that they will not allow any group to attack the territory of neighbouring countries. However, the group has not yet been able to stop the Pakistani Taliban from attacking Pakistani soldiers from Afghanistan.
In an interview with TOLOnews, Pakistan's ambassador encouraged the Taliban to embrace an "inclusive political structure". Ahmad Khan described Afghanistan as a multi-ethnic country and according to him, political stability cannot be achieved without the participation of all ethnic groups.
He also acknowledged that the legitimacy of the Taliban government is linked to human rights issues, especially the reopening of secondary schools for girls across Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s medical council in a statement said that unknown individuals killed Shukria Alokozai, a female doctor. Dr. Alokozai had been working in the maternal section of 102-bed hospital in Khair khana area of Kabul.
Alokozai’s dead body was found in Panjsad Famili area of Kabul on Wednesday, August 31.
Afghanistan’s medical council in their statement on Thursday, September 1, expressed their condolences.
Taliban’s officials have not commented on the issue and the identity of the attacker is also not clear yet.
Since Taliban’s takeover, a large number of female practitioners and civil society members have been killed mysteriously.
Two Taliban members have allegedly sexually assaulted a teenager on the outskirts of Jalalabad city, local sources said. The victim's father has requested officials of Nangarhar province to punish the perpetrators, according to documents obtained by Afghanistan International.
In the documents, it has been stated that two Taliban men sexually assaulted a boy at a farm.
A source told Afghanistan International that the two who have been accused of the rape, are members of a Taliban police station on the outskirts of Jalalabad city.
They started to form friendly relations with this boy a month ago, and on Saturday afternoon last week, they took him to a farm and sexually assaulted him.
A social activist in the city said that such incidents have repeatedly taken place, but some victims remain silent for various reasons.
In recent days, Qari Saeed Khosty, the former spokesperson of the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, has also been accused of sexually assaulting a female student.
Previously, a Taliban commander in Ghor Province was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting his bodyguard and then, was released as well.