2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings

2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings
The Abu Fazl Mosque in 2008
Kabul Mazar-i-Sharif Locations of the incidents
Location	Kabul Mazar-i-Sharif
Date	6 December 2011 12:00 (AFT)
Target	Shia Muslims
Attack type	Suicide bombing IED bombing
Deaths	74+
Non-fatal injuries	160+

The 2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings were a pair of bombings in the Afghanistani capital of Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. 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.

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. 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. 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.

A suicide bomber attacked the Abu Fazl Mosque in the Murad Khane neighborhood of Kabul on 6 December 2011, which claimed more than 50 lives. Reports suggested that the suicide bomber was carrying a backpack and may have been full of explosives. The blast took place at around 12 noon (07 30 GMT) at the gate of the Abu Fazl shrine, which is a place mostly visited by Shias. Hundreds of Afghans had gathered to commemorate Ashura, the day on which the grandson of Muhammad along with 72 followers were murdered in Kerbala, Iraq. According to the statement released by Interior Ministry, a man wearing suicide vest blew himself up inside the shrine where Shi'ite mourners were observing the martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.