A health official said that Afghani — At least 11 people were killed Thursday in an explosion claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group at a Shi'ite mosque in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. The bomb was one of several around the nation.

According to a provincial health official, a subsequent blast in Kunduz, another northern Afghan city, resulted in at least 11 additional injuries.

According to postings on the group's Telegram channel, ISIS claimed responsibility for both strikes.

The explosions occurred during Ramadan, two days after bombings tore through a high school in western Kabul's predominantly Shi'ite Hazara neighborhood, killing at least six people.

"A blast occurred in the second district inside a Shia mosque," Mohammad Asif Wazeri, the Taliban commander in Mazar-e-spokesman Sharif's, told Reuters.

The province health authority's spokesman, Zia Zendani, claimed 11 people were killed and 32 were injured in the bomb.

Shi'ite Muslims in Afghanistan, a religious minority, are routinely targeted by Sunni extremist groups, notably ISIS.

According to Najeebullah Sahel of Kunduz's provincial health administration, hospitals have received 11 persons killed or injured in a separate blast.

According to an interior ministry spokesman, a roadside blast in Kunduz targeted a vehicle of military mechanics, injuring many pupils. He added that another roadside blast in Kabul's capital had wounded three people, including a toddler.

Wazeri, the spokesman, also stated that Taliban soldiers were attacked Thursday evening by unknown gunmen at a property in Mazar-e-Sharif, the provincial capital and that both sides exchanged gunfire. He declined to confirm or deny if the attackers were connected to the explosions and stated their identities were unknown.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations' special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, criticized the explosions.

"Another explosion rocks Afghanistan today... systematic targeted attacks on crowded schools and mosques demand an immediate investigation, accountability, and an end to human rights violations," he tweeted.

According to a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif, she was shopping with her sister in a neighboring market when she heard a loud explosion and saw smoke rising from the area surrounding the mosque.

"The glass in the shops was broken, and it was extremely crowded, and everyone began to flee," the woman, who requested anonymity, explained.

Since gaining control in August, Afghanistan's Taliban rulers claim to have safeguarded the country, but international authorities and analysts warn that the potential of a resurgence of violence persists.