Several killed in mosque attack in western Afghanistan

At least six people have been killed and several others injured in an attack on a mosque in western Afghanistan, local media reported.

Unknown gunmen targeted worshipers at a Shia mosque in the Andisheh town of Guzara, also known as Gozareh district of Herat province, during evening prayers on Monday, Tolo News reported.

Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said around 9:00 pm (1630 GMT) "an unknown armed person shot at civilian worshippers in a mosque" in Herat province's Guzara district.

"Six civilians were martyred and one civilian was injured," he wrote on social media platform X early Tuesday morning.

Locals said the mosque served the minority Shia community in a district just south of the provincial capital of Herat city, and the imam and a three-year-old child were among those killed.

They also said a team of three gunmen staged the attack, contradicting the official account.

"One of them was outside and two of them came inside the mosque, shooting the worshippers," said 60-year-old Ibrahim Akhlaqi, the brother of the slain imam.

"It was in the middle of the prayers."

Local Taliban officials have not yet commented on the incident and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Herat is the third-biggest city located near the border with Iran.

The Iranian Embassy in Kabul condemned the attack on the mosque.