A bomb blast hit a Shia mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on 15 October amid Friday prayers.

The blast, which took place in the Imam Bargah mosque, resulted in heavy casualties with 32 deaths and 53 injuries.

According to reports, the number of deaths is expected to rise.

Interior Minister spokesman Qari Saeed Khosty confirmed the incident on Twitter, adding that “special forces of the Islamic Emirate” have arrived to investigate the incident and “bring the perpetrators to justice.”

The deadly blast comes just days after the 8 October Kunduz mosque suicide bombing carried out by a Uighur member of ISIS that killed and wounded over 100 worshippers.

Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the local branch of ISIS, known as ISIS-K, has stepped up its attacks against the Taliban and Afghan society. Their attacks also have targeted Shias, particularly those of the ethnic Hazara minority in Afghanistan.

Friday’s terror attack also comes just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that ISIS fighters are being transported to Afghanistan from Iraq and Syria.

Following their victory over the local but US-trained army in August, the Taliban pledged to stop the spread of terror groups within Afghanistan, with Minister of Information and Culture Zabiullah Mujahid recently referring to ISIS as a “headache” rather than a threat.