Two dead, 12 injured in mosque shooting

Gunmen armed with machine guns opened fire on people praying at a mosque in central Afghanistan, killing two and wounding 12 others, officials said today.

At least five attackers started shooting inside the mosque in the Dashte Toop area of Wardak province late yesterday, said provincial police chief Eiwaz Khan Mazllum.

A local teacher was among those killed.

Police are searching for the gang, who fled after the attack, he said.

Authorities are trying to determine the motive behind the shooting, said Muhibullah, the chief of criminal investigations in the province, who, like many other Afghans, goes by only one name.