IS behind the attack on Kabul gurudwara

Kabul: The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the deadly terror attack on a gurdwara in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul that killed two persons, including one Sikh community member, calling it “an act of support” for the Prophet.

Several blasts tore through Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul’s Bagh-e Bala neighbourhood on Saturday while Afghan security personnel thwarted a bigger tragedy by stopping an explosive-laden vehicle from reaching the place of worship of the minority community.

In a statement posted on its Amaq propaganda site late Saturday, the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of the Islamic State militant group, said the attack targeted Hindus and Sikhs and the “apostates” who protected them in “an act of support for the Messenger of Allah”.

The dreaded terror group said one of its fighters “penetrated a temple for Hindu and Sikh polytheists” in Kabul, after killing the guard, and opened fire on the worshippers inside with his machine gun and hand grenades. It was the latest targeted assault on a place of worship of the Sikh community in Afghanistan. The three attackers were killed by the Taliban forces.

The terror attack on the gurdwara came days after the ISKP in a video message warned of an attack against Hindus to avenge the remarks against Prophet Mohammad by two former BJP functionaries. In the past too, the ISKP had claimed responsibility for attacks on places of worship of Hindus, Sikhs and Shia Muslims in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the attack on the gurdwara in Kabul drew severe criticism from Afghan leaders and the UN. Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and called it a “terrorist incident.” Abdullah Abdullah, former chairman of the Afghan High Council National Reconciliation, also condemned the attack.

“I strongly condemn...heinous and cowardly terrorist attack on our Sikh community Gurdwara in Karta-e Parwan,” Abdullah Abdullah was quoted as saying by Tolo news. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Twitter said it “strongly co