Rahim Fayez, Associated Press Published Sunday, June 19, 2022, 7:26 AM EDT Last Updated on Sunday, June 19, 2022 7:28 AM EDT
ISLAMABAD (AP) – The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital, Kabul, that killed at least one worshiper and injured seven others.
The ID made the statement in a statement posted on Amaq’s website late Saturday. It says the attack on the “Temple of Sikhs and Hindus” was in response to alleged insults against the Prophet Muhammad, the central figure of the Islamic religion, by an Indian government official. The name of the official shall not be indicated.
Gunmen stormed a Sikh temple known as Gurdwara on Saturday morning, sparking a shootout between attackers and Taliban trying to protect the building, Afghan officials said.
A car full of explosives was blown up outside the temple, but no casualties were reported. Earlier, gunmen threw a hand grenade that set fire to the temple gate, officials said.
The Islamic State said Abu Mohammed al-Tajiki, a member of the group, stormed the temple after killing a security guard and then targeting people inside with machine gun fire and hand grenades. IDF fighters detonated four explosive devices and a car bomb aimed at Taliban militia patrols trying to protect the temple in front of the temple. The battle ended in three hours, Amaq’s report said.
The Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organization based in the United States, said the Gurdwar was badly damaged by the attack.
“Repeated tragic violence against the Afghan Sikh community is devastating, but it is also completely predictable and preventable,” Anisha Singh, the group’s chief executive, said in a statement late Saturday. “The international community, and in particular the United States, continues to make urgent efforts to protect and safely resettle all Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.
Videos posted on social media show streams of black smoke rising from a temple in Kabul’s Bag-e Bala district and gunfire is heard.
Kabul police say the shootout with the extremists ended after the last attacker was killed hours after the attack began. They said one Sikh had been killed and seven others wounded in the attack, and Taliban security forces had been killed during the rescue operation. It was not clear how many IDF fighters were involved or how many were killed in the Taliban shootout.
Earlier this month, Indian officials held talks with the Taliban in Kabul for the first time since the group took control of the country last year over the distribution of humanitarian aid. The Indian delegation was led by JP Singh, Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It was not immediately clear whether JP Singh was the “Hindu” mentioned by IS in his statement, or what comments he may have made that provoked the IS attack. It was also unclear why the extremist organization would head to a Sikh temple in retaliation for comments made by an Indian official.
Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, tweeted late Saturday: “Shocked by the cowardly terrorist attack on Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul.
Modi added: “I condemn this barbaric attack and pray for the safety and well-being of the pilgrims.”
A branch of Islamic State, known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K, has been operating in Afghanistan since 2014. This is seen as the biggest security challenge facing the country’s Taliban, which has seized power in Kabul and elsewhere. in the country last August. They launched a large-scale crackdown on ISIS in eastern Afghanistan.
In March 2020, a lone armed IDF man went wild through a different Sikh temple in Kabul, killing 25 worshipers, including a child, and wounding eight others. About 80 worshipers were trapped in the gurdwar as the gunman fired grenades and fired an automatic rifle into the crowd.
The Sikh Coalition has advocated for the resettlement of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus since the 2020 attack. During his presidential campaign, President Joe Biden supported the resettlement of these families. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the House of Representatives and the Senate also called for resettlement. Despite these support, however, little has been done to help Afghan Sikhs and Hindus leave the country or to help those temporarily evacuated to countries, including India.
There were less than 700 Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan at the time of the 2020 attack. Dozens of families have since left, but many cannot afford to relocate and have remained in Afghanistan, mainly in Kabul, Jalalabad and Ghazni.
Associated Press reporter Maamun Yousef of Cairo contributed to the report.
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