At least four killed as suicide bombers hit Kabul mosque

At least four people were killed and eight more wounded after suicide bombers struck a crowded mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, on Thursday night, said an Interior Ministry official.

ISIL has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The incident happened when Muslims crowded the city's prayer halls for religious observances during the holy month of Ramadan.

Two gunmen and a suicide bomber tried to enter the Al Zahra mosque used by Kabul's Shi'ite minority, but were blocked by police, setting off a gun battle, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

A policeman stands guard at the site of a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Jun 15, 2017.

The attackers took refuge in the mosque's kitchen, where one detonated a bomb while the other two were killed by security forces, he added.

Among the dead were at least three civilians and one police officer, while four civilians and four police were wounded, said Danish.

The mosque was preparing for Lailatul Qadr, an all-night congregation of worshippers during Ramadan that holds special significance for Shiite Muslims.

ISIL also claimed responsibility for an attack last July that killed more than 80 people at a mostly Shi'ite demonstration.

(CGTN)