Kabul: As many as  47 people have been killed and 70 others wounded after an explosion went off inside a Shia mosque in Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar, according to a Taliban official. The explosion on Friday afternoon took place in the Bibi Fatima mosque, the largest mosque for Shia worshippers in the city.

In a statement, the IS claimed responsibility and said that two assailants were involved in the deadly attacks which occurred on Friday inside the Bibi Fatima Shia mosque in police district-1 (PD1) when hundreds of worshippers were offering prayers.

The Taliban government has blamed the attack. Zabihullah Mujahid, deputy minister for the Ministry of Information and Culture, called it a "major crime". The United nation Assistance Mission for Afghanistan said that those behind the incident should be brought to justice.

Friday's attack came exactly after a week when another Shia mosque in Kunduz city was hit by a suicide bombing which claimed the lives of at least 50 people. The IS-K, a local branch of the IS, had claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the deadliest since the US forces left Afghanistan at the end of August.

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