Army troops took control of the area and a curfew was imposed as the Shia vented their anger by burning shops and cars in Hangu, about 200 km southwest of the capital,
Road blocks
Police mounted road blocks on the road to Hangu. An Associated Press reporter was barred from passing beyond Ustarzai, a town about 25 km from the scene of the attack.
"We have orders that no one is allowed beyond this point," said Maqbali Khan, an officer commanding about 20 police at a barricade. He said that angry protesters in Hangu were burning vehicles.
"We thought the bomb was detonated by remote control, but now it appears to be a suicide attack" |
The explosion hit a procession of hundreds of people in a bazaar soon after it emerged from the main Shia mosque at mid morning, said a senior Interior Ministry official.
Earlier, Maulana Khurshid Anwar, a leader of the Shia procession, told Reuters the blast was caused by suicide bombing.
The bomber exploded near a stage from where Anwar was about to address the mourners. Angry Shias started setting shops and a bank on fire after the explosion, he said.
Holiest day
The blast occurred on Ashura, the holiest day for Shias, which marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.
Police have been deployed in force across
 |
Shias mark Ashura by publicly |
While the two communities generally live in harmony, thousands of Shia and Sunni Muslims have been killed in
Afghanistan
Meanwhile, in western
The fighting occurred in a camp for displaced people in
He said 17 people were injured. It was not immediately clear what sparked the fighting during Ashura.
Source: Al Jazeera
Güncelleme Tarihi: 20 Eylül 2018, 18:16
