MOSCOW, October 11. / TASS /. Moscow believes that the terrorist attack in a mosque in Afghanistan’s Kunduz is a barbaric act aimed at destabilizing the situation in the country at a new stage of its history, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
"We view this barbaric action as an attempt to destabilize the situation in Afghanistan at a new stage of its history, undermine the line of those who are interested in inter-Afghan reconciliation and establishing of interethnic and interfaith harmony in the country," the ministry noted.
According to the foreign ministry, Russia strongly condemns the terrorist attack carried out on October 8, which resulted into about 150 deaths and some 200 injuries.
"We hope that the new Afghan leadership will take all necessary measures to find and punish those responsible for the terrorist attack, as well as intensify efforts to eradicate the threat of the Islamic State (IS, banned in Russia) in Afghanistan," the foreign ministry noted.
According to Taliban (outlawed in Russia) representative Mohammad Jalal, the attack was carried out by the Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP) terror group, a branch of the IS. The Taliban, which seized the power in Afghanistan, condemned the blast and vowed to find and punish those behind the attack.