KABUL, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Afghans marked Ashura or the 10th day of Muslim's month of Maharram on lunar calendar which is a remembrance day for Muslims particularly the Shiite sect to observe the martyrdom of prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussain and his 72 companions who were killed in Karbala of Iraq in 680 AD.
Although the government has taken all security measures to facilitate the mourners to observe Ashura in a peaceful environment, terrorist attacks have claimed the lives of at least 30 worshipers and injured 82 others, according to officials.
In the first fatal offensive which happened in Kabul on the eve of Ashura, at least 16 worshipers were killed and 54 others injured, the Interior Ministry confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, a group of suicide attackers targeted a shrine in Kabul on Tuesday night and attacked congregation of worshipers, killing 16 innocent civilians including three women and two children and injuring 54 others, including 26 women.
A similar attack on worshipers in another mosque in Kabul on Tuesday night, according to the Interior Ministry, had been foiled after the security forces gunned down two terrorists inside the mosque.
Meanwhile, terrorists launched a deadly attack on the procession of Ashura mourners in Balkh district of the northern Balkh province Wednesday afternoon, killing 14 worshipers and injuring 28 other, according to Farhad Munir, the spokesman for Balkh provincial government.
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