Islamic State claims responsibility for blast at Afghanistan mosque

PESHAWAR: The Islamic State (IS) terror group on Saturday claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan that killed 32 people, including three Pakistani Sikhs, and injured 40 others.

In a statement on the group's website 'Amaq', IS claimed "57 Shiites (Shias) were killed and 75 were wounded" in the attack on Friday.

Most of the victims were minority Shia Muslims, who in the past have also been targeted in the area.


A suicide bomber triggered the powerful blast at a busy market outside a religious seminary in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

An improvised explosive device was planted in a bike at a popular Friday Market near a Shia imambargah in Orakzai tribal district's Kalaya area, bordering Afghanistan.

The minority Sikh community in the area was previously displaced by the Taliban that controlled the region prior to the military operation in 2010.