In the latest development, terrorists killed 14 people in a Shiite-majority area in central Afghanistan, the Taliban said Friday. The latest attack is one of the deadliest attacks in the Taliban-controlled country this year. Meanwhile, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack even before the Taliban acknowledged the shootings, which took place on Thursday.
The terrorists targeted civilians as they travelled between the Shiite-majority provinces of Ghor and Daikundi. The IS group claimed that a machine gun was used in the assault.
Terrorist attack in mosque
Earlier in April, the Islamic State group carried out a deadly shooting targeting members of Afghanistan's minority Shiite community inside a mosque in western Herat that resulted in the deaths of six people. Gunmen attacked the mosque on the night of April 29 during prayer time, killing at least five people, according to the provincial governor.
Mawlawi Nesar Ahmad Alyes, spokesman for Herat province's governor said that the dead included a woman and a child, while three people were also injured. Later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Telegram channel. The terror group said one of its own members attacked a “Shiite temple” in Herat province with machine-gun fire.
Local media reported that the mosque’s imam was among those killed. Afghanistan’s former President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, saying on the social media platform X that he considers “this terrorist act against all religious and human standards.” The Taliban Interior Ministry has said that an investigation is underway.
(With AP inputs)
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