IS claims deadly attack on Shiite mosque in Kabul

BEIRUT: The Islamic State group said it carried out a gun and bomb attack on a Shiite mosque in Kabul on Friday that killed at least 39 people, including children.

"The martyrdom-seeking brother Abu Ammar al-Turkmani ... succeeded in immersing himself with an explosive vest in a temple of the polytheists," IS said in a message on Telegram.

"He detonated his vest among the crowd."

The Sunni extremists of IS have carried out a spate of bombings against Shiite worshippers, whom it regards as apostates.

The attack, which was one of two targeting mosques in Afghanistan on Friday, capped one of the country`s bloodiest weeks in recent memory, with more than 180 people killed.