The top U.N. official in Afghanistan on Tuesday condemned the latest attack targeting civilians, calling the detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED) at a government-planned Iftar for 500 people at the Grand Mosque in Pul-e-Khomri "cynical" and "cowardly." According to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), led by envoy Nicholas Haysom, the IED at the mosque in the northern Baghlan province wounded more than 40 civilians, many critically, at an event arranged to distribute oil and rice to the poorest families of the city. Haysom said in a statement from Kabul that the attack deliberately targeting families, colleagues, and friends praying together in a mosque "is another horrific example of the conflict in Afghanistan. Such attacks highlight the perpetrators' intent to destroy lives, and spread terror among the civilian population." "This cynical act of terror is a particularly cowardly act. It is an attack bereft of humanity, in violation of national and international law, and is contrary to the precepts and principles of Islam," Haysom said. "The perpetrators of this war crime must be held accountable."
