Terrorism Will Backfire on Sponsors

Iran's Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned a terrorist attack on a crowded Shia mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, stressing that sponsors of terrorism will be engulfed by the backlash of their actions "sooner or later".

"The spread and growth of terrorism in the region has taken on a worrisome trend," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Monday, Press TV reported.

He noted that terrorism would be uprooted in the region only through international resolve and consensus.

The spokesperson extended his sympathy to the Afghan government and nation over the bloody terrorist attack.

Qasemi said the covert and overt support by certain countries for terrorist groups and their deployment to achieve short-term goals have escalated acts of terror.

About 30 people were killed and dozens wounded after a bomber detonated his explosives at the Baqir ul Olum Mosque in Kabul on Monday, as mourners gathered to hold a religious ceremony to commemorate Arbaeen, the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Chief of the Kabul police Criminal Investigation Department, Fraidoon Obaidi, said at least 27 people were killed and 35 wounded but the United Nations said at least 32 had been killed and more than 50 wounded, including many children.

It described the attack as "an atrocity."

The self-styled Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the fatal attack.

Over the past months, Afghanistan has witnessed a surge in IS terror activities, particularly in its eastern regions.

The rise of IS in Afghanistan has triggered concerns in the country, which has already been torn apart by decades of Taliban-led militancy and the 2001 invasion of the United States and its allies.

Mainly active in Syria and Iraq, IS has reportedly managed to take recruits from Taliban defectors in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar that borders Pakistan.

In August, IS claimed responsibility for a bombing during a demonstration held by the Shia Hazara community in Kabul where at least 85 people were killed and more than 400 others wounded.