A well-known religious scholar, Mawlawi Samiullah Raihan, was killed and 16 people were wounded in an explosion happened inside a mosque in Kabul’s PD9, the Ministry of Interior confirmed in a statement.

The statement said the explosion happened at around 1:20pm Kabul time during Friday prayers at Taqwa Mosque in Paktia Kot area in Kabul.

Eyewitnesses said another person was also killed in the explosion. 

Raihan was a well-known religious scholar who was answering people’s questions through media programs. 

He also was a supporter to Afghan security forces and in his preaches were praising the Afghan soldiers for defending the people and the country. 

Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani in a statement denounced the attach and called on relevant departments to probe the incident. 

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.