ISIS made the claim in a statement posted on Amaq’s website late Saturday. He said the attack on the “Sikh and Hindu temple” was in response to alleged insults against the Prophet Muhammad, a central figure in the Islamic religion, by an Indian government official. He did not name the official. Gunmen stormed a Shi’ite shrine on Saturday morning, killing at least two policemen and wounding three others, Afghan officials said. A vehicle full of explosives exploded outside the temple, but there were no casualties. Earlier in the day, gunmen fired a grenade near the temple gate, officials said. ISIS said Abu Mohammed al-Tajiki, a member of the group, stormed the temple after killing the guard and then targeted people inside with machine gun fire and grenades. Islamic State fighters fired four explosive devices and a car bomb at Taliban militia patrols outside the shrine, trying to protect the shrine. The battle ended after three hours, the Amaq report said. Taliban fighters guard the site of the deadly attack in Kabul. Several explosions and shootings took place in the temple in the capital of Afghanistan. (Ebrahim Noroozi / The Associated Press) The Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organization based in the United States, said the garbage had suffered significant damage from the attack. “The recurring tragic violence targeting the Afghan Sikh community is catastrophic, but also completely predictable and preventable,” said Anisha Singh, the group’s executive director, in a statement late Saturday. “The international community, and in particular the United States, continues to lag behind in the urgent efforts to protect and resettle all Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.” Videos posted on social media showed clouds of black smoke rising from a temple in Kabul’s Bagh-e Bala neighborhood and shots being fired.
Sikhs were killed in the shootings
Kabul police said the clash with the militants ended after the last perpetrator was killed several hours after the attack began. One Sikh was said to have been killed and seven others wounded in the attack, and a Taliban security force was killed during the rescue operation. It was not clear how many ISIS fighters took part or how many were killed in the battle with the Taliban. 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 to distribute humanitarian aid. The Indian delegation was led by JP Singh, Secretary of State. It was not immediately clear if JP Singh was the “Hindu” ISIS quoted in his statement or what comments he may have made that provoked the ISIS attack. It was also unclear why the extremist group would target a Sikh temple in retaliation for an Indian official’s comments. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter late Saturday: “Shocked by the cowardly terrorist attack on Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul. Monti added: “I condemn this barbaric attack and pray for the safety and well-being of the faithful.”
The Taliban are launching a crackdown on ISIS
A branch of ISIS, known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K, has been operating in Afghanistan since 2014. It is considered the biggest security challenge facing the country’s Taliban leaders, who have seized power in Kabul and elsewhere. last August. They have launched a sweeping crackdown on ISIS in eastern Afghanistan. In March 2020, a lone ISIS gunman attacked a different Sikh shrine in Kabul, killing 25 worshipers, including a child, and injuring eight others. About 80 worshipers were trapped inside the gutter as the gunman dropped grenades and fired automatic rifles at the crowd. The Sikh Coalition has supported the resettlement of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus since the 2020 invasion. During his presidential campaign, US President Joe Biden supported the resettlement of these families. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Parliament and the Senate also supported the resettlement. Despite these demonstrations of support, however, little has been done to help Afghan Sikhs and Hindus flee the country or to help those temporarily evacuated to nations including India. There were less than 700 Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan at the time of the 2020 attack. Since then, dozens of families have fled, but many have not been able to move and remain in Afghanistan, mainly in Kabul, Jalalabad and Ghazni.
