The Islamic State’s Khorasan province claimed credit for today’s suicide assault that took place at a crowded Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The Amaq News Agency, an official propaganda arm of the Taliban, said that two “immersers” carried out the assault on the Imam Zaman Mosque.

According to TOLONews, Afghan security personnel battled the jihadists for more than two hours before killing them. Hundreds of civilians were trapped in the crossfire during the fighting. Afghan officials are claiming that more than 30 civilians were killed and at least 80 people were wounded in the attack.

The Islamic State’s Khorasan province, like the main branch in Iraq and Syria, has had no qualms about targeting Afghan civilians, particularly Shiites, in mass-casualty suicide attacks in mosques and other locations. The group does not view Shiites as “proper Muslims” and targets them as viciously as it does Western forces. [See FDD’s Long War Journal reports, Islamic State suicide bomber kills dozens at Kabul mosque and Islamic State continues to target Shiite civilians in Kabul.]

Khorasan province’s last attack on a mosque took place on Aug. 2 in the western city of Herat; at least 29 people were killed and more than 60 were wounded.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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