2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings

2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings
The Abul Fazl Mosque in 2008
2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings is located in Afghanistan
Kabul
Kabul
Mazar-i-Sharif
Mazar-i-Sharif
Locations of the incidents
LocationKabul
Mazar-i-Sharif
Date6 December 2011
12:00 (AFT)
TargetShia[1]
Attack type
Suicide bombing
IED bombing
Deaths80+[2]
Injured160+

The 2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings were a pair of bombings in the Afghan capital of Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif.[3][4] The Kabul suicide bombing took place at around noon local time, on the day when Muslims commemorate Ashura, an annual holy day throughout the Muslim world particularly by the Shi'a Muslims.

The first attack took place at the gate of a Shi'a shrine in Kabul and was caused by a suicide bomber. The second incident took place in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where a bomb was affixed to a bicycle that exploded near a mosque shortly after the Kabul blast.[5] The suicide blast in Kabul resulted in the deaths of more than 70 civilians, which included women and children, while the Mazar-i-Sharif blast claimed at least 4 lives.[5][6][7] The third was in the southern city of Kandahar, where five people received injuries. The total number of dead in all the attacks reached about 80, while over 160 more were injured.[2]

  1. ^ "20 Killed in Rare Attacks on Afghan Shiites". ABC News. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b Afghanistan's President Says Death Toll From Shrine Blast Has Risen to at Least 80, Fox News, 11 December 2011, retrieved 11 December 2011
  3. ^ "Three blasts rock Afghanistan, 34 dead". CNN-IBN. 6 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Afghanistan shrine blasts leave 34 dead: Police". The Times of India. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Explosion rocks shrine in Kabul". BBC. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference tdt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "At least 34 killed in Kabul shrine blasts". NDTV. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.