The Islamic State terrorist group says it was behind an attack on a mosque in Afghanistan that left six people dead

ISLAMABAD – The Islamic State group claimed responsibility this week for a deadly shooting targeting members of the country’s Shiite minority at a mosque in western Afghanistan that killed six people.

The militant group said in a statement posted on its Telegram website late Tuesday that one of its members attacked a “Shiite temple” in Herat province with machine gun fire. One person was also injured in the attack, which took place in Guzara district on Monday evening.

The attacker fled the scene. The Taliban Interior Ministry said an investigation was underway.

Local media reported that the mosque’s imam was among those killed. The UN mission in Afghanistan condemned the attack and said a child was among the victims. It called for urgent accountability for perpetrators and protection measures for Shiite communities.

Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai said on the social media platform X that he viewed “this act of terrorism as a violation of all religious and human norms.”

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday: “The people and government of Pakistan express their deepest condolences to the people of Afghanistan.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families in this hour of grief,” it said.

The statement further said that Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms.

The IS affiliate in Afghanistan is a major rival to the Taliban and frequently attacks schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas across the country.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, in the final weeks of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO troops from the country after 20 years of war.

Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban gradually reinstated a strict interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia, as they did during their previous rule over Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.