Violence leaves five dead

Gunmen opened fire in a mosque north-west of the Afghan capital, killing four civilians, while a fifth was killed in a bombing outside a butcher's shop in the western part of the country, officials said Monday. The shop in Herat supplies meat to the Afghan army, and officials think the bomb targeted security forces, said Noor Khan Nekzad, the spokesman for Herat province's police chief. At least four other civilians were wounded in the explosion, Nekzad said.
A day earlier, gunmen entered a mosque in Baghlan province's Markazi district, killing four civilians and wounding two, the provincial governor's office said Monday. Officials said they did not know why the mosque was targeted. Past mosque attacks have targeted government officials.