2022 Mazar-i-Sharif Mosque Bombing

On 21 April 2022, a bomb detonated inside the Shia Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan, while worshippers were performing the Zuhr prayer. Authorities reported at least 31 people killed and more than 87 injured, with six of the wounded described as being in critical condition. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for the bombing via its Telegram channel.

According to the group's own claim, the attack was carried out using a remote-controlled explosive device concealed in a bag, detonated at a time when the mosque was crowded with worshippers. ISKP stated the bombing was part of a broader campaign it described as avenging the deaths of its former leader and spokesman.

The mosque bombing occurred as part of a wider series of attacks across Afghanistan on the same day, which included two explosions targeting Taliban officers in Kunduz and Khogyani District, and a separate bombing in Kabul that injured two Shia children. The attack followed a period in which Afghanistan had experienced a marked increase in bombings since the Taliban took power, including an earlier bombing at a high school in the predominantly Shia Dasht-e-Barchi area near Kabul.

The bombing drew condemnation from multiple governments and organizations. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack and offered condolences to the government and people of Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic of Iran's embassy in Kabul issued a statement offering condolences to the families of the dead and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured, describing the attack as having shed "the blood of Muslim and fasting people of Afghanistan" during Ramadan. UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett characterized the pattern of attacks on the Hazara community as "systematic" and called for immediate investigation, accountability, and an end to such human rights abuses. Hezbollah and the Taliban also condemned the bombing.

The Seh Dokan mosque bombing is documented alongside other 2022 attacks attributed to ISKP targeting Shia communities and Taliban personnel in Afghanistan, including subsequent bombings in Kabul and Kunduz and a further attack in Mazar-i-Sharif later in the same month. No individual perpetrators have been publicly identified or charged in connection with the attack; responsibility has been attributed solely to the Islamic State – Khorasan Province as an organization.