A bomb blast in the Afghan capital, Kabul, has killed at least 66 people and several others injured.
The explosion took place in the early afternoon at the Khalifa Sahib Mosque in the capital's west, the latest in a string of attacks on civilians in Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Sayed Fazil Agha, the head of the mosque, said someone they believed was a suicide bomber joined them in the ceremony and detonated explosives.
"Black smoke rose and spread everywhere, dead bodies were everywhere," he told Reuters, adding that his nephews were among the dead. "I myself survived, but lost my beloved ones," he said.
The attack came as worshippers at the mosque gathered after Friday prayers for a congregation known as Zikr – an act of religious remembrance.
The explosion was so loud that the neighborhood of the mosque shook from the blast, the residents said, speaking on condition of anonymity, fearing for their own safety.
Ambulances raced to the site, driving up to the end of a narrow street in an eastern neighborhood of Kabul to reach the mosque, which belongs to Afghanistan’s majority Sunni Muslims.
The explosion was the latest in a series of such blasts amid relentless attacks across the country. Similar attacks on mosques have recently targeted the country's minority Shiite Muslims and were claimed by the Daesh terrorist group's regional affiliate, known as the Daesh-Khorasan Province (Daesh-K).
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast, according to foreign media. A spokesperson for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, released a statement condemning the blast and saying the perpetrators would be found and punished.
