Suicide bomber strikes near Shiite mosque in Kabul, 4 dead

KABUL — A suicide bomber struck outside a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul late Thursday night, killing four people, including a leader of Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazaras, Hajji Ramazan Hussainzada. Another five people were wounded, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.

Danish said there was gunfire outside the mosque as the suicide bomber tried to force his way inside, but he was stopped by a police officer, who died in the explosion. Another policeman was wounded.

The U.S.-based SITE, which tracks the online activity of extremist organizations, said the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaq news agency. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claim, however the IS affiliate in Afghanistan has taken responsibility for past attacks against the country’s minority Shiites.

Last year IS claimed an attack on a Shiite shrine that killed 14 people.