Eid al-Adha: Rockets explode during morning prayers at Afghanistan’s presidential palace

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Rockets exploded near the presidential palace in Afghanistan‘s capital of Kabul during Eid prayers this morning as Muslims around the world gathered to mark the religious holiday. 

Video taken during the prayers captures the sound of incoming missiles and explosions as dozens of people bow their heads in prayer in a central courtyard.

Nobody was injured in the attack which has not yet been attributed to a group, though comes as the Taliban retake vast swathes of territory while the US withdraws.

Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice which coincides with the end of the Hajj pilgrimage, is typically marked with mass gatherings the world over and the sacrifice of animals with meat given to the needy.

Celebrations were noticeably larger than during the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan earlier this year – which came amid Covid lockdowns – but were muted compared to pre-pandemic years as governments asked worshippers to be considerate amid the spread of the Delta variant.

The Hajj pilgrimage itself – an annual journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that is compulsory for all Muslims who can afford it – was also drastically reduced in size due to the pandemic, with only 60,000 fully-vaccinated worshippers allowed to participate using tickets that were raffled. 

Indonesia today marked a grim Eid al-Adha amid a devastating new wave of coronavirus cases in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Large gatherings were banned and tougher travel restrictions imposed.

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, also an influential Islamic cleric, appealed to people to perform holiday prayers at home with their families.

‘Don’t do crowds,’ Mr Amin said in televised remarks ahead of the start of the holiday.

‘Protecting oneself from the Covid-19 pandemic is obligatory.’

The surge is believed to have been fuelled by travel during another holiday, the Eid al-Fitr festival in May, and by the rapid spread of the Delta variant.

In Malaysia, measures have been tightened after a sharp spike in infections despite a national lockdown since June 1, people are banned from travelling back to their hometowns or crossing districts to celebrate.

House visits and customary trips to graveyards are also banned.

Healthy worshippers are allowed to gather for prayers in mosques, with strict social distancing and no physical contact.

Ritual animal sacrifice is limited to mosques and other approved areas.

Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah has urged Malaysians not to ‘repeat irresponsible behaviour’, adding that travel and celebrations during Eid al-Fitr and another festival on the island of Borneo led to new clusters of cases.

‘Let us not in the excitement of celebrating the Feast of Sacrifice cause us all to perish because of Covid-19,’ he said in a statement.

The country’s prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin urged Muslims to stay home.

‘I appeal to you all to be patient and abide by the rules because your sacrifice is a great jihad in Allah’s sight and in our effort to save lives,’ he said in a televised speech on the eve of the festival.

The World Health Organisation has reported that Covid-19 deaths had climbed after a period of decline.

The reversal has been attributed to low vaccination rates, relaxed mask rules and other precautions, and the Delta variant.

Lockdowns will severely curtail Eid al-Adha festivities in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two largest cities.

Sydney resident Jihad Dib, a New South Wales state government lawmaker, said the city’s Muslims were sad but understood why they would be confined to their homes with no visitors allowed.

‘It’s going to be the first Eid in my life I don’t hug and kiss my mum and dad,’ Mr Dib told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Melbourne Muslims face their second Eid al-Adha in lockdown in as many years.

The sudden announcement of the Melbourne lockdown last week will also deal a huge financial blow to retailers who had stocked up on food ahead of what they thought would be usual Eid festivities.

Iran on Monday imposed a week-long lockdown on the capital, Tehran, and the surrounding region as the country struggles with another surge in the coronavirus pandemic, state media reported.

The lockdown begins on Tuesday.

Not everyone is imposing new restrictions.

In Bangladesh, authorities have allowed an eight-day pause in the country’s strict lockdown for the holiday that health experts say could be dangerous.

In Egypt, Essam Shaban travelled to his southern hometown of Sohag to spend Eid al-Adha with his family.

He said ahead of the start of the holiday that he planned to pray at a mosque there on Tuesday while taking precautions such as bringing his own prayer rug and wearing a mask.

‘We want this Eid to pass by peacefully without any infections,’ he said.

‘We must follow instructions.’