ISLAMABAD ( Associated Press) – At least one person was killed and seven injured on Saturday in multiple explosions and shootings at a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital, a Taliban government official said. No one took responsibility for the attack.
Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said gunmen attacked a Sikh shrine in Kabul, known as a gurdwara.
He elaborated that a gunfight broke out between the attackers and Taliban forces and two Sikhs were injured and taken to hospital. “First of all, the gunmen hurled a hand grenade which caught fire near the gate,” Takore said.
Kabul police chief’s spokesman Khalid Zadran said the police operation ended after the last attacker was killed several hours later. He did not say how many attackers were involved.
Zadran said a Sikh was killed and seven others were injured in the attack, and a Taliban security guard was also killed during the rescue operation.
Videos posted on social media showed plumes of black smoke rising from the temple in Kabul’s Bagh-e-Bala area and gunshots could be heard.
An offshoot of the Islamic State extremist group in Khorasan province has recently increased attacks on mosques and minorities across the country.
The Islamic State-affiliated organization, which has been active in Afghanistan since 2014, is being seen as the biggest security challenge facing the ruling Taliban. Since seizing power in Kabul and other parts of the country last August, the Taliban have launched a massive campaign against Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan.
In March 2020, a gunman from an extremist group killed 25 worshipers, including a child, and injured eight others at a Sikh temple in Kabul. The attacker threw grenades and fired an automatic rifle at the crowd.
