Police said a suicide bomber stuck a gathering of the country’s top clerics in the capital Kabul. The clerics had issued an Islamic ruling (fatwa), declaring that suicide attacks are “haram” – forbidden under Islamic law.
A suicide bomber exploded a device near Muslim clerics on Monday as they were leaving a giant tent in the west of Kabul where they had gathered to denounce terrorism and call for peace, security officials said.
Police said at least eight people had died in the attack, but added that the toll could rise.
Ghafor Aziz, police chief of Kabul’s 5th District, said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives near the entrance of a compound where the religious body, known as the Afghan Ulema Council, was meeting.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
A series of bombings in Kabul that has killed dozens of people in recent months has shown no sign of easing during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.