A suicide bomber killed at least 30 people inside a mosque in Kabul, capital city of Afghanistan on Friday night, according to security officials.

The attack happened when Shi'ite worshippers were gathering for Friday prayers at Imam Zaman mosque in the western part of Kabul.

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A senior security official told Reuters that at least 30 dead bodies have been recovered from the scene but the exact number of casualties was not known.

The blast occurred when dozens of worshippers were offering evening prayers in the Shi'te mosque in Dasht-e-Barchi locality, Police District 13 of the city, witness Mohammad Eisapur told Xinhua news agency.

"We found a terrorist entered the mosque building and detonated his explosive jacket among the crowd. The blast caused panic among the worshippers and passersby as well," he said.

Security forces cordoned off the area for precautionary measures. The victims were shifted to nearby hospitals. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, IANS reported.

Kabul Blast
An Afghan police man stands guard at the site of attack in Kabul, Afghanistan July 31, 2017. [Representational picture]Reuters

Quoting a spokesperson for the Afghan interior ministry, news agencies reported that the  investigators were working at the scene to determine the nature of the explosion.  

The Afghanistan's Shi'ite community has become a target of the Islamic State (ISIS) with several attacks carried out against them this year. At least 20 people were killed in a bomb attack on the worshippers in Kabul this August, and another mosque came under siege in September.

According to a United Nations' report released last week, at least 84 people belonging to Shi'ite community have been killed and 194 wounded in a series of attacks against them, most during religious gathering.