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Solved case · 2021

2021 Kandahar bombing

SOLVED
Updated
Updated Jul 7, 2026
US Navy 060909-N-9915J-030 Aviation Ordnanceman study training material while standing watch over racks of GBU-38 Joint Attack Direct Munition bombs in the hangar bay aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS EnterpriseUS Navy 060909-N-9915J-030 Aviation Ordnanceman study training material while standing watch over racks of GBU-38 Joint Attack Direct Munition bombs in the hangar bay aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS EnterpriseCredit: U.S. Navy photoPublic domainSource

The short answer

2021 Kandahar bombing in brief

A suicide bombing struck the Imam Bargah (Fatima) Mosque, a Shia mosque, during Friday prayers in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on 15 October 2021, killing at least 65 people and wounding more than 70.

Key facts

Year
2021
Place
Imam Bargah (Fatima) Mosque, Kandahar, Afghanistan
Status
SOLVEDSolved
Outcome
No conviction on file

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The case file

What happened

On 15 October 2021, a suicide bombing occurred at the Imam Bargah Mosque, also known as the Fatima Mosque, a Shia mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The attack took place during Friday prayers and killed at least 65 people, with more than 70 others wounded.

Around 13:00 local time four bombers arrived at the mosque gate. Two of them detonated their explosives at the gate, clearing a path for their accomplices to continue the attack among the roughly 3,000 worshippers gathered inside the mosque, where two further bombs were detonated.

The attack occurred one week after a bombing claimed by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) at a Shia mosque in Kunduz killed 46 people. Following the Kunduz attack, the Taliban government had promised to provide security at Shia mosques and had expressed condolences to victims' families while pledging to bring the perpetrators of that earlier attack to justice.

The Islamic State – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the Kandahar mosque bombing in a statement released through the group's media wing, Amaq.

2 dated entries · 2021

Timeline

  1. A bombing claimed by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province at a Shia mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killed 46 people.

  2. A suicide bombing occurred at the Imam Bargah (Fatima) Mosque, a Shia mosque in Kandahar, during Friday prayers, killing at least 65 people and wounding more than 70.

0 named in this file

People

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3 cited

Sources

Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.

  • 2 Press
  • 1 Encyclopedic
  1. Blast hits mosque in Afghan city of Kandahar, heavy casualties -officials

    PressReutersAccessed Jul 7, 2026

  2. Afghanistan: At least 15 killed in explosion at mosque in Kandahar

    PressSky NewsAccessed Jul 7, 2026

  3. 2021 Kandahar bombing

    EncyclopedicWikipediaAccessed Jul 7, 2026

Trust

Record history

First published
Jul 7, 2026
Last verified against sources
Jul 7, 2026
Corrections
None

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