Gun attack on Shiite mosque in western Afghanistan kills 6 worshippers
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 30, 2024
ISLAMABAD — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Tuesday that an overnight attack on a Shiite mosque in a western region bordering Iran had killed at least six people, including a child.
An Interior Ministry spokesman reported that an “unknown armed person” stormed the mosque in the Guzara district in Herat province and sprayed worshippers with bullets before fleeing.
“Six civilians were martyred and one was injured,” Abdul Mateen Qani said on social media platform X.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting, but suspicions fell on a regional Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), or Daesh.
The extremist Sunni group has taken credit for plotting almost all recent attacks on Shi’ite mosques, hospitals, and public gatherings in the country.
Hassan Kazemi Ghomi, the Iranian ambassador in Kabul, condemned Monday’s attack, calling IS-K a “common external threat” to both countries and the region at large.
“We consider Afghanistan our partner in the fight against terrorism, and cooperation in this area will be a top priority,” Ghomi, also the special presidential envoy for Afghanistan, wrote on X.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, denounced the mosque shooting.
“Investigations and accountability for perpetrators and protection measures for Afghanistan’s Shi’a communities are urgently needed,” the UNAMA stated on X.
IS-K has also routinely plotted deadly bomb attacks against leaders and prominent religious scholars linked to the ruling Taliban.
The violence has increased since the then-insurgent Taliban reclaimed power in 2021 when the United States and NATO withdrew their troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of war with the Taliban.
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Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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