KABUL - Both houses of Parliament and the Afghanistan Ulema Council on Wednesday strongly condemned the suicide attack that killed up to 60 people and wounded more than 160 others.
The blast ripped through a crowd of Shiite worshipers marking the holy day of Ashura at a shrine in the capital. The widely condemned attack happened at the Abul Fazal shrine.

The same day, four people were killed and 20 wounded in a separate bomb attack in northern Balkh province. In Kandahar, five people sustained injuries when explosives rigged to a motorbike went off.

"The enemies of Islam and Afghanistan are once again out to kill innocent civilians. It was an unforgiveable crime on the holy day of Ashura," the Ulema Council said in a statement. "But the enemies of Islam and Afghanistan cannot disunite the nation."

Meanwhile, the Wolesi Jirga said the attacks by "foreign intelligence agencies" were aimed at creating divisions among Afghans.

Without naming any country, Second Deputy Secretary Ahmad Behzad told a news conference the attacks showed that a new sinister conspiracy had been hatched across the border against Afghans.

"But Afghans are united and by killing worshipers and civilians, the outsiders will not be able to achieve their goal of creating divisions among Afghans," he remarked, asking security officials to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Meshrano Jirga, or upper house of Parliament, also denounced the attacks. It said such assaults could not misguide the Afghans.

The Hope and Change Coalition, led by former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, also condemned the attacks.