At least 12 people have been killed and more wounded in an explosion at a mosque on the outskirts of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, according to police.
The blast during Friday prayers in Shakar Dara district came on the second day of a three-day ceasefire agreed between the Afghan government and the Taliban on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said explosives had been placed inside the mosque beforehand, adding that authorities had opened an investigation.
“The death toll has jumped to 12 killed including the imam of the mosque and 15 others are wounded,” said Ferdaws Framurz, a spokesman for Kabul police, updating an earlier toll.
An image circulating on social media showed three bodies lying on the floor of the mosque, where there seemed to be minor damage.
The explosion happened a day after at least 11 people were killed in four separate incidents across Afghanistan that shattered the relative calm of the ceasefire agreed between the government and the Taliban.
Although there were no reports of direct fighting between the two warring sides as they observe the temporary ceasefire, roadside bombs continued to inflict casualties on civilians.
The blast comes after Afghan officials on Friday said the United States had pulled out completely from a major southern air base in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
US airstrikes were launched from the base just last week to help Afghan forces push back a major Taliban offensive.US officials believe the attack on the school may have been the work of a rival militant group such as the Islamic State. Such groups have not signed on to the holiday ceasefire.
Violence, including attacks on civilians, has increased in Afghanistan, even as the United States has begun an operation to withdraw all its remaining troops over the next four months.
There have been no major reports so far of direct fighting between government forces and the Taliban during the holiday ceasefire, which began on Thursday at the end of the Ramazan. However, roadside bombings have continued, with at least 11 civilians reported killed and 13 wounded in four bombings on Thursday.
The government and the Taliban have been holding political talks to try to end their conflict as Washington pulls its troops out 20 years after US bombing forced the Taliban from power. Both sides at the talks have accused the other of provoking and failing to halt attacks against civilians.
"Today’s attack on a mosque in Shakar Dara district of Kabul during Friday prayer is completely opposing the idea of Eidul Fitr as a family holiday celebrated in peace," the European Union's mission in Afghanistan said on Twitter.