Afghans charge 2 in mosque suicide bombing

KABUL – Afghan authorities June 19 said they had charged two men in connection with the December 6 suicide bombing of a Shiite shrine in Kabul, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. The bombing killed at least 55 worshippers.

Both suspects confessed to the bombing, Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Aloko said.

The plot was meant to provoke “sectarian violence,” he contended, saying one suspect came from Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, and was paid Rs. 10,000 (US $110) to bring two suicide bombers to Kabul. In December, President Hamid Karzai blamed the bombing on Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.