KABUL, Sept 2 — A huge blast rocked one of the biggest mosques in Afghanistan's western city of Herat today, killing its influential imam and causing many other casualties, local media reported.

Tolonews said the blast occurred at Gazargah Mosque just before Friday prayers, killing imam Mujib ur Rahman Ansari.

Images on social media showed what appeared to be blood-stained bodies scattered around the compound of the mosque.

Ansari was an influential pro-Taliban cleric known for his fiery speeches.

In July, during a religious gathering in Kabul, he called for those who commit "the smallest act against our Islamic government" to be beheaded. — AFP