Iran has strongly condemned a recent terrorist attack on a Shia mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul, which killed four people, including three civilians.

On Thursday night, an assailant detonated his explosives when he was prevented from entering the al-Zahra Mosque in western Kabul, prompting an exchange of fire between the police and other attackers. The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, which according to the police, also injured five others.

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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi condoled on Friday with the Afghan government and people over the incident.

Afghan security personnel investigate in front of the al-Zahra Mosque in the capital, Kabul, June 16, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Qassemi said the attackers, which he called “mercenaries,” had shown how those who support and those who carry out acts of terror “infringe on all ideological and moral boundaries, and are thirsty for the blood of innocent human beings.”

Daesh, which is mainly active in Iraq and Syria, has been suffering heavy defeats at the hands of national armies and allied forces in the two Arab countries. It has recently gained a foothold in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar Province. But it has managed to stage a handful of attacks beyond the eastern province.

On Thursday, Afghan officials said Daesh had occupied Afghanistan’s famous Tora Bora mountainous area, which is dotted with caves and tunnels, along the border with Pakistan.