2:30 p.m.
An Afghan official says a Shia mosque in the capital, Kabul, has come under attack as gunmen stormed the mosque while worshippers were at prayers.
The police are reporting that there are sounds of explosions and gunfire at the scene of the attack on Friday but details are sketchy. There was no immediate information on any casualties.
Police official, Mohammed Jamil, says the gunmen are still inside the mosque, which was crowded with worshippers bowed in Muslim Friday prayers. The mosque is located in a northern neighborhood of Kabul.
Jamil says that Afghan security forces have surrounded the mosque but are not advancing or pushing into it to prevent more casualties.
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2 p.m.
An Afghan official says the Taliban have attacked a security outpost in southern Kandahar province, the insurgents former heartland, killing 4 troops.
Provincial police chief’s spokesman, Zia Durrani, says the security forces repulsed the Taliban attack with the help of air support from the Afghan air force.
Durrani says the Friday morning attack also left seven policemen wounded.
He says the Taliban sustained heavy casualties. There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.
Elsewhere, provincial deputy police chief Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai says that Afghan security forces recaptured a district in eastern Paktia province from the insurgents.
The summer fighting season in Afghanistan has been brutal so far this year, with relentless Taliban attacks around the country as the insurgents battle to expand their footprint.
