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Afghanistan: Annan, UN Mission ‘outraged’ by deadly attack on Kandahar mosque

Afghanistan: Annan, UN Mission ‘outraged’ by deadly attack on Kandahar mosque

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Secretary-General Kofi Annan joined with the United Nations mission in Afghanistan to express shock and outrage following today’s suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Kandahar during a memorial service for a slain Islamic cleric.

“While the number of casualties is not yet fully known, this already qualifies as one of the deadliest assaults against civilians in Afghanistan in several years,” said a statement issued by a spokesman for Mr. Annan in New York.

“He is outraged by this senseless attack, all the more so as it was directed against a place of worship during a memorial service for a member of the clergy, who was himself assassinated two days ago,” said the statement, which added: “The Secretary-General strongly condemns this heinous act of terrorism.”

Meanwhile, a statement released in Kabul this morning by a spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), expresses shock and condemns “this odious act in the strongest terms.” It adds that UNAMA expresses its solidarity with the religious community and the people of Kandahar, who have been so ruthlessly targeted, and its sympathy to the wounded and the relatives of those killed in the incident.

“[UNAMA] also expresses its conviction that the people of Afghanistan will see in this brutal attack further reason to rally against all forms of violence and their perpetrators,” says the statement.