Explosion kills head of provincial religious council and two others, say local officials

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

A suicide bomber has killed three people at a Kandahar mosque during a memorial service for Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Afghan president's brother who was assassinated earlier this week.

The attacker was 15 or 16-year-old boy who had a bomb concealed in his turban, the Kandahar governor said.

Zalmai Ayoubi, a spokesman for the governor's office, confirmed three people were killed and 15 were wounded in the attack. However, witnesses said five people had died and more than 25 were injured.

"The suicide attacker entered the mosque. One of the people who died was Maulawi Ekmattulah, the head of the local ulema shura [the provincial religious council]," Ayoubi said. The identity of the others killed has not yet been confirmed.

Haji Padshah, who had been paying his last respects to Karzai at the service, said: "I was on the other side of the mosque when I heard the bang. It deafened me. I could not hear anything but I saw everyone running around."

Speaking from the hospital where he had been taken, Padshah said he saw five dead bodies and more than 25 injured survivors.

Ahmed Wali Karzai was shot by his personal bodyguard on Tuesday and was buried at the family gravesite in the village of Karz.

The funeral was attended by the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, politicians, dignitaries and thousands of other mourners. Islamic custom dictates the deceased must be buried within 24 hours of death.

Thursday's memorial service was planned to allow those travelling from further afield who would not arrive in time for the burial to pay their respects.

The police have launched an investigation into the killing of Karzai as it is unclear why a trusted aide would murder him. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assassination but a personal conflict has not been ruled out. Hamid Karzai was not at today's memorial service, having already returned to Kabul.

The burial of of AWK, as he was known, passed without incident amid tight security provided by the Afghan national security forces. However, Helmand's governor, Gulab Mangal, was targeted by a remotely detonated roadside bomb in Maiwand district of Kandahar as he travelled to the funeral. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Taliban spokesperson Qari Yosuf Ahmadi said he did not have any information about the attack.