KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Two bomb attacks that killed at least 63 people Tuesday in Afghanistan appear to have been aimed at Shiite Muslims on a major religious day.
The twin blasts, along with a third that produced no fatalities, prompted President Hamid Karzai, in Germany for an international summit on his country's future, to cancel the United Kingdom leg of his trip to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron and head home, the BBC reported.
"Never in our history have there been such cruel attacks on religious observances," Karzai said in a statement released by his office. "The enemies of Afghanistan do not want us to live under one roof with peace and harmony."
The New York Times, which reported the death toll had reached at least 63 with more than 100 wounded, said the Sunni extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The newspaper said there were suspicions al-Qaida, the Taliban or Pakistani intelligence agents played a role.
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Experts said the carnage was a disturbing turn for the country, which has been generally free of infighting between Sunnis and Shiites, The Daily Telegraph reported. Tuesday was Ashura, observed as the anniversary of the martyrdom of Abdul Fazi, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
The first bombing, a suicide attack that accounted for the bulk of the fatalities, occurred at the Abdul Fazi shrine in Kabul. The second killed four in Mazar-i-Sharif and was detonated among a crowd of Shiites observing Ashura.
No one died in a third attack, involving a bomb hidden on a parked motorcycle in the southern city of Kandahar, the Times reported. Police said a religious procession had been targeted.
