14 killed in Islamic State attack targeting Afghanistan’s Hazara community

At least 14 people were killed and six injured in an attack by an armed group, allegedly the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-K), in central Afghanistan.

The attack took place on Thursday night in central Afghanistan when militants opened fire on a group of travelers from the Shiite Hazara ethnic group, which constitutes 10 percent of Afghanistan’s population and has long been persecuted by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and the Islamic State militant groups.

Amnesty International said in a statement condemned the assault, saying the victims were traveling between Ghor and Daikundi provinces when the attack occurred.

“Amnesty International strongly condemns the cold-blooded murder of at least 14 Hazara travelers by an armed group in central Afghanistan,” the London-based rights watchdog said.

According to Amnesty, the “callous attack,” reportedly claimed by the ISIS-Khurasan, “is part of a wider pattern of deliberate and systematic attacks targeting the Hazara community in places of worship, schools, hospitals, roads, and other public areas in Afghanistan at least since 2015.”

Amnesty called for those responsible for the attack to be brought to justice and for measures to be put in place to protect the Hazara community from further harm.

The de facto Taliban government condemned the attack and promised to arrest its perpetrators.

“We acknowledge with deep sadness the cruel murder of our 14 compatriots and the wounding of six others. The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this brutal act and considers the security of the nation and its properties as its own responsibility,” said Mawlawi Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims of the incident and will do everything possible to arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice,” he added.

Since the Taliban took power in Kabul in August 2021, armed hostilities in many parts of the country have ceased, in part because many of the attacks were carried out by this fundamentalist group in the war against the US-backed government following the American invasion.

However, the country continues to experience attacks against minorities and against the Taliban themselves, many of them claimed by the Islamic State and its Afghan branch.

In more than three years of Taliban rule, ISIS-K attacks have mainly targeted places of worship and schools in the provinces of Kabul, Kunduz and Balkh, serving Hazara, Shia and Sufi communities.

Source » efe.com