Bomb-attacks by terrorists kill 5 people at 2 mosques during Friday prayers in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Sott.net
Fri, 24 May 2019 22:35 UTC

Comment: Which is more likely:

1.) Unknown Islamists (that is, they're pro-Islam, ardently so) terrorists blow up two mosques with pre-placed bombs in two different countries at the same time, for no apparent gain, or
2.) A 'third force' directs terrorists whose atrocities target all 'sides' within target countries, thus keeping them under a 'strategy of tension', disincentivizing foreign investment and development, and providing 'markets' in which foreign mercenaries - usually Western - can 'sell' their expertise, i.e. killing people?

3 killed, 30+ injured after blast rocked mosque full of Friday worshippers in Afghan capital

RT, 24 May, 2019

© Omar Sobhani / Reuters

Afghan security forces keep watch outside a mosque where a blast happened in Kabul, Afghanistan May 24, 2019.

Three people have been killed and 32 others injured as an explosion rocked a mosque full of people during Friday prayers in the Afghan capital Kabul, according to health officials.

The death toll in the attack in Kabul was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health.

One of the people killed in the attack has been confirmed as well-known religious scholar imam Mawlawi Samiullah Raihan. The cleric was known for supporting the Western-backed Afghan government, which is opposed by Taliban militants.

The bomb was apparently planted in the microphone used by the imam, according to Jan Agha, a district police official.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the mosque attack as a terrorist act.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) are well-known for similar attacks in Kabul.

The district where the explosion happened is dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, most of whom are Sunni Muslims, who make up the majority of the Taliban group.

Comment: Meanwhile, at almost exactly the same time...

2 killed, 15 injured after blast inside mosque in Pakistan

RT, 24 May, 2019

© Naseer Ahmed/Reuters

Local police official Tauseef Farman told Al Jazeera the explosive device went off next to the prayer leader, who was among those killed.

At least two people were killed and more than a dozen injured after a bomb exploded inside a mosque during Friday prayers in Quetta, Pakistan, according to a rescue source quoted by Geo TV.

The device was hidden near the Rehmania Mosque's pulpit, state-run Radio Pakistan said, citing police.

The mosque's administration told reporters that there were around 30 to 40 people inside the building at the time of the incident.

The deputy inspector of police said that three of the injured are in critical condition. Women and children are said to be among those hurt in the blast.

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan has condemned the incident and ordered an investigation. No group has yet claimed responsibility.

Sectarian violence often targets the Shia Muslim minority in Pakistan, however, this explosion took place in a Sunni majority area in a mosque attended by Sunni followers.

Comment: Two pre-placed bombs at the pulpits of two mosques, detonated at the same time, during Friday prayers, in Kabul and Pakistan. And no one claims responsibility for either...

Al Jazeera has additional info about today's bombing in Pakistan:

Quetta is the capital of Balochistan, Pakistan's largest and least populated province that is also rich in mineral and fuel resources.

It has seen regular violence in recent years, with attacks claimed by Baloch separatists, Pakistan Taliban and local affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS).

The province has been at the centre of a series of recent attacks that have killed at least 10 people.

Last week, at least four policemen died when their vehicles were targeted by an explosion as they stood guard outside a mosque during evening prayers.

On May 12, Baloch separatist attackers stormed a five-star hotel in the southern port city of Gwadar, killing at least five people, including a Navy soldier.

Pakistani security forces engaged in an hours-long gun battle with the attackers, with the siege ending after three attackers were killed.

Balochistan is seeing a number of new infrastructure projects erected, including the port at Gwadar, as part of the $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, a joint venture between the Pakistani and Chinese governments.

And who supports these Balochi separatists?

The CIA.