The blast happened in the Kandahar region during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque.

The interior minister's spokesman, Qari Saeed Khosti, said authorities were collecting details of the explosion, which occurred days after Islamic State claimed a bombing at a Shia mosque in the northern city of Kunduz that killed several people.

Nematullah Wafa, a former member of the local provincial council, said Friday's incident occurred at the Imam Bargah mosque and caused heavy casualties.