US offers condolences to victims of Afghan suicide bombing

In her daily press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the US Recognises the 'enormous tragedy' that occurred in Kunduz on Friday where a suicide bombing took the lives of 46 worshippers at a mosque, wounding dozens of others. Reports of the death toll differ however, with the UN and local sources saving said over 100 may have been killed.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a separate statement that the US condemns in the strongest terms the Friday's attack on worshippers at a mosque in Afghanistan. The Afghan people deserved "future free of terror", Price declared.

"Our heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones," Psaki said, adding that the country deserved better. "We, of course, will continue to work in partnership with leaders in the region to work to get partners who stood by our side out of Afghanistan, who want to depart. That's something that there's ongoing work on, as we speak."

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad mosque in the city of Kunduz in north-eastern Afghanistan. The operation was carried out through its local outfit Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K/ISKP. Dozens of worshippers were wounded in the blast, mostly Shiites who had gathered for Friday worship.

In the Telegram release, the terror outfit claimed that the bomber was an Uighur Muslim who had struck at the Taliban for their willingness to expel Uighurs under pressure from China. ISIS and the Taliban have been engaged in various skirmishes with the Islamic State having earlier detonated a bomb at the funeral gathering for the mother of Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid at the Eidgah mosque in Kabul. The Taliban retaliated with a strike which purportedly killed three IS fighters and destroyed a sleeper cell.