Kabul, Oct 26: A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in northern Afghanistan today, killing 35 people and wounding at least 70, government and hospital officials said.
 The attack in the town of Maymana, capital of northern Faryab province, came as people were gathering at the mosque to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday, said Jawid Didar, spokesman for the governor's office.
 Top provincial officials, including the governor and the police chief, were inside the building when the bomber set off his explosives outside, where a large crowd had gathered, Didar said.
 The officials were not hurt, but the casualties included police officers and soldiers, he said.
 "There was blood and dead bodies everywhere," said Khaled, a doctor who happened to be in the mosque at the time of the blast. "It was a massacre," said Khaled, who like many Afghans uses only one name.
 Video from the scene showed the motionless bodies of several soldiers and policemen lying next to their vehicles parked on a tree-lined avenue of the city, located about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Kabul.
 On the sidewalk, a number of civilians lay along the mosque's outer wall, some writhing and moaning in pain. It appeared to be the deadliest suicide attack in recent months.
 On September 4, 25 civilians were killed and more than 35 wounded in Nanghar province, and on September 1, 12 people were killed and 47 wounded in a suicide attack in Wardak province.
 The attack came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged Taliban insurgents "to stop killing other Afghans."
 In his Eid al-Adha message to the nation, Karzai called on the insurgents to "stop the destruction of our mosques, hospitals and schools."
 The United Nations says that Taliban attacks account for the vast majority of civilian casualties in the 11-year war. AP

Lastupdate on : Fri, 26 Oct 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 27 Oct 2012 00:00:00 IST