US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking of the explosions in a mosque in Nangarhar province that killed at least 69 people, said: “The United States continues to work for peace and stability in Afghanistan and will continue to fight terrorism,… we stand alongside the Afghan people who only want peace and a future free from these hateful acts of violence ”.
Local officials, in the hours following the explosions, had reported 62 and about wounded 50.
Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the Nangarhar provincial council, said the mosque, with a capacity for more than 150 at a time, was full of people when bombs exploded.
"Bodies of 69 people, including children and the elderly, were handed over to their relatives," Qaderi said, adding that more bodies may be under the rubble.
At the moment no group has claimed responsibility, but the government has pointed the finger at the Taliban insurgents, who are fighting to reset the strict Islamic law after being expelled from power in the 2001 by US-led forces.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied the group's involvement by reporting in a tweet that witnesses claimed that the attack was carried out using a mortar by government forces.
One of the wounded, Gulabistan, 45, said: "The Mullah has already started prayers and reciting verses from the Holy Quran, when suddenly a loud roar was heard, then everything around me became dark, the the only thing I remember are the voices of the females and then I found myself in the hospital ”.
The European Union said the attack was aimed at undermining hopes for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
Taliban and Islamic State fighters actively operate in parts of Nangarhar, which shares a border with Pakistan in the east.
According to a UN report released this week, between July and September, 4.313 would be the civilians killed in the war in Afghanistan.