Blast injures 10 Hajj Ministry staffers in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan

At least ten employees of the Ministry of Hajj Affairs in Afghanistan were injured on Monday in an explosion, days after a pro-government religious scholar was killed in a similar incident, a statement said.

The statement by the Ministry of Interior said an improvised explosive device (IED) planted inside the bus carrying employees of the Ministry of Hajj Affairs went off in the morning.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Last week, a prominent pro-government religious scholar, Mawlavi Samiullah Raihan, was killed in a blast inside a mosque in the capital Kabul during Friday prayers following an IED blast.

As a television celebrity for religious programs, Mawlavi Raihani was a staunch supporter for the Afghan security forces and opponent of the raging armed insurgency in the country.

The Ministry of Hajj Affairs has criticized the government for not providing religious scholars under mounting attacks with enough security.