Afghan officials say a suicide attack on a Shi'ite mosque in Kabul killed at least 20 people, including two police officers, and wounded more than 40 others during Friday prayers. .
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed that at least one attacker blew himself up at the gate of the Imam Zaman mosque while several others stormed inside.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
Police cordoned off the area soon after the assault. Residents of the area reported hearing gunfire from inside the mosque
An eyewitness says he saw at least three women and several children wounded and lying on the floor during the incident. Family members of those still in the mosque gathered outside.
Imam Zaman is one of the main Shi'ite mosques in the area and more people attend mosques on a Friday, the Muslim holy day of the week.
The trouble happened days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his new policy for Afghanistan in which he gave battlefield decision-making powers to his ground commanders, demanded Pakistan “immediately” change its behavior and stop providing havens to the Afghan Taliban, and asked the Afghan government to hasten reform and not take American support for granted.
