The influential imam of one of Herat’s largest mosques was killed in a massive explosion that rocked the city on Friday, according to local media, which also claimed many other lives.
According to Tolonews, imam Mujib ur Rahman Ansari was killed in the bomb that happened at the Gazargah Mosque just before Friday prayers.
Social media posts featured what seemed to be blood-stained bodies lying throughout the mosque’s grounds.
Ansari was a pro-Taliban cleric who was well-known for his vehement outbursts.
He demanded the beheading of everyone who commits “the smallest act against our Islamic authority” in July during a religious gathering in Kabul.