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Subscribe to RSSAccording to government officials, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in northern Afghanistan, killing 40 people and wounding more than 50. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing 40 people and wounding more than 50, government and hospital officials said.
The attack in the town of Maymana, capital of northern Faryab province, came as people were gathering at the mosque to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday, said Jawid Didar, spokesman for the governor's office.
Top provincial officials, including the governor and the police chief, were inside the building when the bomber set off his explosives outside, where a large crowd had gathered, Didar said. The officials were not hurt, but the casualties included police officers and soldiers, he said.
"There was blood and dead bodies everywhere," Khaled, a doctor who happened to be in the mosque at the time of the blast, told The Associated Press.
"It was a massacre," said Khaled, who like many Afghans uses only one name.
The death toll soon climbed to 40, with more than 50 people wounded, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Information told NBC News.
Afghan officials told NBC that it was too soon to determine whether Afghan security forces were the primary target of the bomber, or whether the bomber was wearing a uniform of any kind.
Afghan woman beheaded for refusing to become prostitute
A spate of so-called insider attacks -- carried out by members of the Afghan police or military -- has undermined trust between international troops and the local army and police, further weakened public support for the war in NATO countries and increased calls for earlier withdrawals.
Video from the scene showed the motionless bodies of several soldiers and policemen lying next to their vehicles parked on a tree-lined avenue of the city, located about 300 miles northwest of Kabul. On the sidewalk, a number of civilians lay along the mosque's outer wall, some writhing and moaning in pain.
Intensifying violence
Friday’s attack appeared to be the deadliest suicide bombing in recent months.
But violence is intensifying across the country, 11 years into the NATO-led war, sparking concerns over how the 350,000-strong Afghan security forces will manage once most foreign troops leave by the end of 2014.
Aref Karimi / AFP - Getty Images
More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.
On Sept. 4, 25 civilians were killed and more than 35 wounded in Nanghar province, and on Sept. 1, 12 people were killed and 47 wounded in a suicide attack in Wardak province.
The attack came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged Taliban insurgents "to stop killing other Afghans."
In his Eid al-Adha message to the nation, Karzai called on the insurgents to "stop the destruction of our mosques, hospitals and schools."
Pakistani girl shot by Taliban reunited with family
The United Nations says that Taliban attacks account for the vast majority of civilian casualties in the war. The insurgents routinely deny that they are responsible for attacks on civilians, saying they target only foreign troops or members of the Afghan security forces.
On Wednesday, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar urged his fighters to "pay full attention to the prevention of civilian casualties," saying the enemy was trying to blame them on the insurgents.
Taliban claims killing of 2 Americans
Also Friday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for killing two American service members in southern Uruzgan province, in what may have been the latest insider attack against Western troops.
Joint US-Afghan operations are becoming more common, and so are the risks. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
In an emailed statement, Taliban spokesman Jusuf Ahmadi said a member of the Afghan security forces shot the two men the day before, then escaped to join the insurgents.
Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com
Maj. Lori Hodge, spokeswoman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said on Thursday that authorities were trying to determine whether the attacker was a member of the Afghan security forces or an insurgent who donned a government uniform.
It was the second suspected insider attack in two days. On Wednesday, two British troops and an Afghan policeman were gunned down in Helmand province.
Sunni radicals target Shiites to fan sectarian flames in Pakistan
Before Thursday's assault, 53 foreigners attached to the U.S.-led coalition had been killed in attacks by Afghan soldiers or police this year.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Apparently they have decided not to wait for us to leave before they return to their centuries-old tradition of killing each other.
As long as it stays in the family - I'd view it as IEDs for Eid. As Friday nights go though, it usually spills over into a half-dozen mortar shots for bedtime.
Does anyone remember the good ol' days when the Islamist extremists used to say that it was forbidden for anyone to attack mosques and/or to kill Muslim devotees attending religious services?
Nuke Mecca, then nuke it again until you roll an 11.
Indigo-Rage: For world peace and economic stability, start nuking from Mecca and erase Saudi Arabia and Pakistan out of the world map.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are responsible for 80 percent of world problems including economic problems due to manipulations of oil prices higher and higher.
By the by, before the followers of Islamic cult set their feet in Afganistan and Paki regions, those areas were peaceful and prosperous.
What more can one say that has not already been said about this religion and the ideological beliefs of these radicalized few.
It would be a whole different world if these same few bring this to the United States and kill and injure US Citizens on US soil.
I'm not sure these people can be stopped anywhere without a complete crack down that would take so much of our freedom away from us.
I'm sure glad Christians don't go around bombing other denominations church's.
You've clearly never been to Ireland...
Ok Muslims murder 40 other Muslims at a mosque and this is nearly a daily occurrence but this is not about Islam President Obama "Islam is a great religion" (shaking my head in disgust)
Jonathan-1982062:"For world peace and economic stability, start nuking from Mecca and erase Saudi Arabia and Pakistan out of the world map."
Wow.. seriously? For world peace? Are you listening to yourself? Don't stoop down to their level. We shouldn't be cheering on any type of civilian destruction, despite what the civilians may think. Your ethics shouldn't be dictated by what the other side thinks.
Indigo-Rage,
There was a bombing in an Irish church in the past 10 years? I must have missed that one.
You didn't specify a time period...
Then why didn't you qualify your statement?
It seems this is how the followers of the cult of the moon god celebrate their holidays. Their moon god is indeed a bloodthirsty god.
Yeah, they've just brainwashed Western peoples into thinking that collectivism, self-renunciation, and hatred of sex, strength, revenge, lust, wealth (and pretty much everything else that makes life worth living) is morally wrong with a capital W...
It is true that Islam has its own problems, but which religion - Christianity or Islam - has done more to degenerate the human race? Which has done more to destroy the human mind?
I think one can plausibly argue that Christianity has. At least the Moslems can conceive of themselves as individually valuable enough to seek revenge and actually defend something (even if what they're defending is quite silly). To me that's more honorable than what Christianity has become - basically a religion of moralizing bed-wetters seeking ever new ways to turn the other cheek, play victim, and hate themselves.
Plus Mohammed was way cooler than Jesus - the dude banged every woman in site, was king of his entire part of the world, and pretty much annihilated anyone who disagreed with him. Certified B.A. in my book...
...but yeah, eating crickets and dying on some stick in the middle of the sun is a way more honorable way to live. SMH.
Sheep.
It never fails. Each time the sons of the moon god commit one of their patented acts of butchery and carnage some loon shows up to bash Christianity.
Definitely true, I mean, you can't a negative opinion about anything without the tolerance crowd coming in and informing you how much WORSE [the West, America, Whites, Christians, Heteros, etc.) are and how wonderful Group X is...
...I'm not one of those people though. I'm not a leftist. I'm just saying this to break-up the monotony a little. I could care less about Islam - personally I'd like to see every building in Mecca dismantled with 500lb cluster bombs. Get the Israelis to bulldoze that thing on top of the Western Wall as well. Just destroy the entire religion I say.
...I just really don't like Christianity either. I'd agree, my comment might have been a bad way to break-up the monotony of these threads about Islam, but its been a long day. Give me a break.
Islam will destroy itself from within. As seen in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria. The bloodshed has just begun.
don't know about you but i consider this good news. let em blow each other to pieces, just get out of the entire Mideast BOTH militarily AND monetarily and let em go at it. they have absolutely nothing we need and its not our job to police the world
In agreement!
"Taliban attacks account for the vast majority of civilian casualties in the war."
I agree with you though I have a problem.
These suicide bombers are killing so less in numbers that they will not be eligible for 72 virgins in heaven.
Allah will be happy that the suicide bomber has started his cleaning Islam job on a good day.
But he will be unhappy that so few are killed!
You got my vote scooter tramp.
Therein lies the problem. The Middle East DOES have something we need, desperately. O-I-L. Were it not for that, we would happily stand aside and let them slaughter one another, kind of like we do in Africa.
"...nothing we need..."
Get your horse ready - it'll go good with the buggy whip mentality.
Afghanistan = hellhole. The sooner we leave, the better. There is no hope for people with that medieval level of ignorance. We should have known that before we went in. B-52's from 30,000 feet should have been our chosen path in Afghanistan. Putting our troops at risk was foolish from the start.
In Afghanistan, Pakis have backstabbed the US and NATO forces big time. Half of NATO forces deaths are due to ungrateful and backstabbing Pakis.
When the NATO forces were entering Kandahar in 2001, Pakis airlifted key al-Qaida, Taliban, ISI and others militants by back door from Kandahar.
This includes Mullah Omar, Osama and many including Paki Haqqani militant network leaders.
Hope people remember about Pakis sheltering Osama.
These Paki Islamic religious Nazis don't bother about their people and they are into reckless killing games in the name of jihad.
Declare Pakistan a terrorist nation.
To reduce NATO forces losses, carpet bomb Paki militant areas just like 1991 Iraqi war.
Or else just get out right now. Once out of Pakistan means out of Pakistan, Afghanistan and other ME Muslim nations at least for a decade.
Problem with your B-52 idea is after 20+ years of civil war and the Soviet/Afghan War there were few targets for a B-52 to unload on.
"The sooner we leave, the better."
Who's we? You've never been there and have never seen the face of hope.
" Half of NATO forces deaths are due to ungrateful and backstabbing Pakis."
Jonathan, mimi jaques, David, and whatever other hat you wear - you're so far off the map you look foolish.
Funny but you're all missing the fact that this level of gang violence is happening right now, everyday in: North Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, East St. Lois, etc...
The American Taliban are right here in the USA: These people are raised to hate/kill each other from a very young age, have ZERO family support, gang culture, glorified degradation of women and blame others for their life station - The American Taliban
We can't leave now, we re too addicted to opium :)
How many of these suicide attacks is it going to take before these people realize that something is very wrong with Islam in a theological way? I have long said that we need to create a universal standard for all religion in our world, which all religion needs to be brought into full compliance with theologically, which requires all religion to fully respect modern day human rights, civil rights, and internationally accepted mental health standards. Nations which continue to harbor dangerous forms of religions within their borders which have proven themselves to be terrorist beliefs then need to be treated by the international community as rogue nations in a Cold War containment way, intended to force these international religious reforms on their citizens with the active monitoring of the international community. - Rick Carter
The Taliban and muslim extremists are defeating themselves. Blowing up mosques and shooting little girls will lose support of all people around them. We should not have intervened as they just needed to show their true colors which is blood red.
We gave them a bogeyman to target and now we are leaving the real causes of hatred are coming to light. Hate eventually loses and the process is in full motion.
Good post....well said!
Wrong!!! These dangerous religions can easily metastasize all over our world, and eventually plunge our entire world into a programmed global "End Time" crisis. It is incumbent upon the entire civilized world to force theological reforms on these dangerous religions before it is too late. I have long warned the entire world that all three of these dangerous Abrahamic religions were covertly designed and installed by outside offensive totalitarian ETs, who repeatedly masqueraded as Divinity toward mankind in the process of covertly installing all three of these dangerous Abrahamic religions into our emerging human world. These offensive totalitarian ETs are hellbent on trying to use their eminent domain rights of military intervention in our sector of the Milky Way galaxy to one day steal and annex our extremely valuable celestial real estate. These Abrahamic religions are all critical components of a large ET designed PWMD, or Program Weapon of Mass Destruction, which is designed to crash and explode our emerging human world in a final programmed cataclysm of global warfare known as the Christian Apocalypse or World War III. In other words, our emerging human world has been under covert biocybernetic warfare attack for thousands of years already, primarily in the form of these ET designed and installed Abrahamic religion, because these offensive totalitarian ETs are trying to thwart mankind's successful emergence as a full fledged member of our greater galactic community, so they can one day use their eminent domain rights of military intervention to steal and annex our extremely valuable celestial real estate. These ETs were forced to take this covert approach at territorial conquest because there are Free Galaxy powers which reside elsewhere in our Milky Way galaxy who currently stand in the way of overt military conquest on a stellar level. Mankind potentially has countless millions (even billions) of years of growth, development and expansion ahead of them, so long as they don't fall for these ET designed and installed terminal religious "End Time" belief systems. Please listen before it is too late, mankind! - Rick Carter
IXLR8- great post.
Rick Carter- I've not had enough coffee yet to take in your post but I'm sure you meant well.
This week marks the 13 anniversary of trying to put this information out in the public domain, since I began this effort back in late October 1999. So this week is the final end of it all for me. From here on out this world is entirely on its own when it comes to dealing with this fraught issue, especially since the U.S. government has completely discredited me the entire way. Have fun with your program "End Times", everyone! Bye, bye, ya'll! ~ Rick Carter
Dafuq did I just read?
Thanks for the early morning laugh, Rick Carter. One more layer of tin foil should complete your hat.
If that were the case, then why haven't we seen the people of Afghanistan rally together to slaughter and expose the Taliban?
Rick Carter. It is no more possible to force theological reforms on a people than it is to force political reforms on a people.
thatguy...Is that the "dafuq" I think you mean?
Rick Carter: Did you ever watch the film ET ala Spielberg? Well, I suggest that you visit ET's planet, unless you're already posting from there.
DJ: LMAO!!!
The Afghanistan government has some choices to make, and it has nothing to do with us. We are out of there in 2014. They need to get their act together.
People who simply look at this as a Muslim thing don't get it!
Northern Afghanistan has been peaceful up until now- the Taliban has re-emerged with bloody attacks .The suicide bomber was dressed in an Afghan police uniform standing next to scores of Afghan police,army and intel personnel.Dead toll rising=41 dead so far- 31 wounded amongst them the provincial police cvhief Abdul Khaliq Aqsai; (amongst dead 17 civilians and 15 police and intel personnel). These attacks will only intensify since Taliban knows US is leaving at a date certain. In Myanmar also bloody battels between buddhists and muslims so far 51 men and 61 women dead in 4 townships. Burma/Myanmar did not have these kinds of killings and torchings of houses between various religions- since lifting sanctons US/HRC/Obama have been introducing Turkey and Sunni moslem oversight/re-introduction of religion. Same happened in the Balkans when all of a sudden religious doctrines and infidel designations backed with monies/goodies for populaces not accustomed to such brainwashings.
maybe they should contact the people in chicago, to see how it done there
Why are the old men in our government insistent on keeping our soldiers there for so long? Bring them home NOW. The Pakistani-Afghan alliance is going out of its way to kill our soldiers and other American personnel. Karzai is so smug about it. Let the U.N. soldiers play there if they like, but we can do better for our soldiers, and stop the drain on our treasury.
I agree
You are unaware of one of the oldest of adages. Old men start wars. Young men fight wars.
Very sad story. With their mentality and religious values that section of Earth will never change. They believe blowing up scores of their own folks gets them to their heaven, where as other religions believe doing good to their fellow man gets them to heaven; the Muslim faith seems to me a sick one.
By the way, "...a number of civilians lay along ..." that should read "lie" not lay.
There are no virgins waiting on the other side, only pain.
...Ha Ha! My God is better than yours!!!
Attacking and killing their own and in a mosque yet! I think aliens from outer space are gassing us all with crazy dust. And strangely enough, the only way I know to stop it is to kill all the crazies. Where will it all end? I beg our troops to keep YOURSELVES safe until our crazies can get you home where there is a little less violence. You've given more than enough.
God is great!
In Afghanistan, Northern Alliance was fighting Taliban before NATO forces entered in 2001.
Northern Alliance helped NATO forces. Pakistan's backstabbed and evacuated Paki, Taliban and other Islamic militant leaders to Pakistan.
NATO forces installed (probably on the advice of "strategic ally", Pakistan) highly corrupt and useless Karzai as President and started pouring our tax money in there.
The next job was to charge Gen Dostum of Northern Alliance on "human rights violations." He took refuge in Turkey.
Can any sane do those sorts of acts unless one has too bad an ally like Pakistan and dances as they advice?
"I Keel You"
"Your daughter. She come into my yard and she kick my dog. Why did she do it?"
Rules of engagement for US forces in Afghanistan state specifically that we are not to attack a mosque, especially during any Muslim holiday. Apparently that is set up that way so the terrorists can use that scenario to gain a maximum effect with an attack at precisely that time. So much for the 'religion of peace' and their hypocritical blathering. Just get all US forces out of that fleabag country and let them all go at it, like they have been doing for 10,000 years.
beth-7038404 banned, re-reg of Timmer2 and others.
urging taliban insurgents "to stop killing other Afghans"...what a profound act of leadership.
Besides, muslims being muslims is going to happen with or without Karzai's 'urging'.
Afghans are obviously psychotic. That's not me being sarcastic either. They're killing thousands of their own people. Instead of talking and mediating, they're literally blowing up in anger. That is how we say in the west "stupid." This is a lost cause. We did what we wanted, the people and islamists are just too dumb to realize they'll go back to a crappy life as soon as we leave, so just leave.
America isn't perfect. And we have all sorts of nasty skeletons in our closet. So do Christians as a whole. But at least those groups have evolved, have learned from their mistakes, and have tried not to repeat them. But the Middle East - they are clueless, hopeless, and brainless...
The religion of peace is in Europe causing nothing but destruction and decreeing to make Europe islam. Their ultimate goal is the U.S. Afghanistan is 100% muslim and there is still is no peace. The afghani's who have immigrated to Australia and Canada have cause nothing but trouble for these countries. It didn't happen overnight...
Moslems murdering other moslems. Life as usual in the wonderful world of islamic brotherhood. Just imagine the riots and American flag burnings that would be going on if the U.S. had bombed a mosque.
Keep blowing yourselves up, Muslims. Just another normal day in Afghanistan.
Hey Obama, hurry up and write that billion dollar check for next year for afghanistan so Karzai and his dope pushing cronies can steal the money from the usa.
After all, paying these islamic pond scum to keep on murdering each other is the only progress that has been made during this 10 year wasted war which has and will ACCOMPLISH ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, just as it has in the past.
We have paid Karzai and his coirrupt government more than 10 billion dollars to stay in his country and try to establish our form of government, and each and every friggin day over there has been an ABSOLUTE WASTE AND FAILURE day after day, year after year.
We have accomplished noit a dang thing in the 10 years we have been over there war mongering.
I'm guessing these people never watched Mr. Rodgers or Big Bird. Maybe they just need a hobby.
Just another day in the Muslim world, what other race of savages besides Muslimes strap bombs to themselves and blow up innocent people. We need to create as much distance as we can from these savages, they will kill us in a heartbeat even with all the zillions of dollars in aid that we give them. Afganistan is a failed state and we need to leave immediately, as soon as the US pulls out the country is going to Implode (or Explode). Best wishes and good luck Afganistan.
White supremacists and anti-abortion believers, except they lack the balls to do it right and anonymously kill strangers over ideology.