Iran’s speaker condemns Afghan mosque bomb attack

Tehran: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on Sunday condemned a recent deadly bomb attack targeting worshippers in the northeastern Afghan city of Kunduz.

In an address to an open session of the parliament, Qalibaf said the Afghan authorities are duty-bound to ensure security for the Afghan people, calling for punishing those behind the tragic event and implementing necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency reported.

Qalibaf warned that sowing religious and ethnic discord is a new security project “carried out by U.S.-backed terrorist groups.”

The explosion occurred on Friday while worshipers were praying at a mosque in the Bandar-e-Khanabad area in Kunduz, killing scores of people and injuring more than 140 others.

The Afghan branch of the Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.