At least 1 died in the attack on the Sikh temple in the Afghan capital

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ISLAMABAD – One person was killed and seven others injured on Saturday in a series of attacks and shooting at a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital, a Taliban official said. He has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Abdul Nafi Takor, a spokesman for the interior ministry appointed by the Taliban, said gunmen attacked a Sikh temple in Kabul known as Gurdwara, sparking a clash between the attackers and the Taliban.

He said a car full of explosives exploded outside the temple, but no casualties were reported. “The first gunmen threw grenades and started a fire at the door,” she said.

Khaled Zadran, a spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said the police operation ended after the last attacker was killed hours later. He didn’t say how many attackers were involved.

Zadran said one Sikh was killed and seven wounded in the attack, while Taliban security forces were also killed in the rescue operation.

“The security forces acted swiftly and kept the attack under control and quickly neutralized the attackers and prevented further casualties,” he said.

Videos posted on social media show black smoke coming out of a temple in Kabul’s Bagh-e-Bala district and gunshots can be heard.

The regional branch of the Islamic State, known as the Islamic State in the province of Khorasan, has recently intensified attacks on mosques and minorities across the country.

The Islamic State branch that has been operating in Afghanistan since 2014 is seen as the biggest security challenge facing the country’s Taliban rulers. After taking power in Kabul and elsewhere in the country last August, the Taliban launched a massive crackdown on ISIS in eastern Afghanistan.

In March 2020, an IS gunman broke into a Sikh temple in Kabul, killing 25 and injuring eight others, including a child. About 80 worshipers were stranded in the Gurdwara when a gunman opened fire on the crowd with a grenade and an automatic rifle.

At the time of the 2020 offensive, there were fewer than 700 Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan. He has since left dozens of families, but many are unable to relocate financially and remain in Afghanistan, most notably in Kabul, Jalalabad and Ghazni.

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Source: Washington Post

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