The Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack on a Sikh temple in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, which killed at least one worshiper and wounded seven others.
ISIS made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website on Saturday afternoon. He said the assault on the “Sikh and Hindu temple” was in response to alleged insults against the Prophet Muhammad, the central figure in the Islamic religion, by an Indian government official. He did not appoint the official.
Armed men attacked the Sikh house of worship, known as Gurdwara, on Saturday morning and there was a shootout between Taliban attackers and fighters seeking to protect the building, Afghan officials said.
A vehicle full of explosives was detonated outside the temple, but no casualties were reported. Earlier, gunmen fired a hand grenade that set fire 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 aimed at people inside with machine gun fire and hand grenades. ISIS fighters outside the temple detonated four explosive devices and a car bomb against Taliban militia patrols trying to protect the temple. The battle ended after three hours, according to the Amaq report.
Taliban fighters guard the site of the deadly attack in Kabul. Several explosions and gunfire ravaged 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 gurdwara was badly damaged by the attack.
“The recurring tragic violence against the Afghan Sikh community is devastating, but it is also totally predictable and avoidable,” Anisha Singh, the group’s chief executive, said in a statement on Saturday afternoon. “The international community, and in particular the United States, continues to lack the urgently needed efforts to safely protect and resettle all Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.”
Videos posted on social media showed feathers of black smoke rising from the temple in Kabul’s Bagh-e Bala district and gunfire could be heard.
Sikh killed in a shootout
Kabul police said the shooting with militants ended after the last attacker was killed several hours after the assault began. One Sikh was killed and seven others were injured in the attack, and a Taliban security force was killed during the rescue operation. It was unclear how many ISIS militants were involved or how many were killed in the Taliban shootings.
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 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It was not immediately clear whether JP Singh was the “Hindu” ISIS he referred to in his statement or what comments he may have made that provoked the ISIS attack. It was also unclear why the extremist organization would target a Sikh temple in retaliation for comments made by an Indian official.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Saturday afternoon: “Departure for 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 devotees.”
Taliban launch crackdown on ISIS
An ISIS affiliate, 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 rulers. take power in Kabul and other parts of the country last August. . They have launched a radical crackdown on ISIS in eastern Afghanistan.
In March 2020, a lone ISIS gunman razed a Sikh temple in Kabul, killing 25 worshipers, including a child, and wounding eight others. As many as 80 worshipers were trapped inside the gurdwara as the gunman threw grenades and fired an automatic rifle at the crowd.
The Sikh Coalition has advocated for the resettlement of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus since the 2020 attack. During his presidential campaign, U.S. President Joe Biden supported the resettlement of these families. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate also advocated resettlement. Despite these signs of support, however, little has been done to help Sikhs and Afghan Hindus leave the country or help those temporarily evacuated to countries such as India.
There were fewer than 700 Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan at the time of the 2020 attack. Since then, dozens of families have left, but many cannot afford to relocate and have remained. in Afghanistan, mainly in Kabul, Jalalabad and Ghazni.