Taliban pledges to step up security at Shia mosques in Afghanistan after two suicide bombings in a week

The Taliban has pledged to improve security at Shia mosques after two major ISIS-K suicide attacks on worshippers in the space of a week reportedly killed more than 120 people in Afghanistan.

The group has claimed responsibility for both attacks, the most recent of which saw a group of bombers shoot their way into the largest Shia Mosque in Kandahar province – the Taliban’s spiritual heartland – before blowing themselves up among the worshippers.

At least 47 people have died and fatalities among the 70 wounded are expected to rise – just a week after 80 worshippers were thought to have been killed in a similar attack during Friday prayers at a packed mosque in Kunduz.