HERAT
\nA blast outside a mosque in the city of Herat in western Afghanistan on Friday killed a high-profile pro-Taliban cleric as well as civilians, police said.
\n\u201cMujib Rahman Ansari, with some of his guards and civilians, have been killed on their way toward the mosque,\u201d said Herat\u2019s police spokesperson Mahmood Rasoli.
\nRasoli did not say how many casualties the blast caused.
\nReports said the militant Islamic State\u2019s Khorasan branch (IS-K) has taken responsibility for the blast.
\nAl Jazeera Media Network, citing unnamed sources, said 14 people had been killed.
\nMujib Rahman Ansari had spoken strongly in defence of the Taliban at a large gathering of thousands of scholars and elders organised by the group in late June, condemning anyone who stood against their administration.
\nThe Taliban say they have improved security in the country since taking power around a year ago, but there have been several blasts in recent months, some of them targeting busy mosques during prayers.
\nAccording to an Afghan journalist, a \u2018high\u2019 number of casualties was caused by the explosion.
\nAfghan news agency Tolonews said that Ansari was killed at the Guzargah mosque where he was the imam.
\nDeputy minister of information Zabiullah Mujahid said also confirmed the death of cleric on twitter and wrote that \u201cInna Lillahi wa inna ilayhe raji\u2019un\u201d and further he went on, \u201cregrettably, Moulana Mujibur Rehman Ansari, the country\u2019s strong and courageous religious scholar was martyred in brutal attack on Friday in Herat.
\nThe Islamic Emirate expresses its deep sorrow for his martyrdom, the perpetrators behind the incident will be punished for their heinous act.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HERAT A blast outside a mosque in the city of Herat in western Afghanistan on Friday killed a high-profile pro-Taliban cleric as well as civilians, police said. \u201cMujib Rahman Ansari, with some of his guards and civilians, have been killed on their way toward the mosque,\u201d said Herat\u2019s police spokesperson Mahmood Rasoli. Rasoli did not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-281176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n