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Afghanistan: Shooting attack on mosque kills 6

April 30, 2024

Locals suggested the mosque was targeted for being used by the Shiite Muslim minority. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but an "Islamic State" affiliate has targeted Shiites in Afghanistan in the past.

https://p.dw.com/p/4fL7g
Afghans gather at a mosque where gunmen attacked Shiite Muslims in Guzara district of Herat province on April 30, 2024.
Authorities said a gunman entered the mosque and started shooting at the worshippersImage: Mohsen Karimi/AFP/Getty Images

A gunman stormed a mosque in western Afghanistan as worshippers were praying, killing six people and injuring another.

The incident took place in the western Herat province's Guzara district on Monday evening. The mosque was targeted due to serving the minority Shiite community, local residents and media reported.

What do we know about the attack?

Taliban Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said that "an unknown armed person shot at civilian worshippers in a mosque."

"Six civilians were martyred and one civilian was injured," he wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, early Tuesday morning.

Locals told the French AFP news agency that the shooting was carried out by three gunmen rather than one. Those killed included the imam of the mosque and a three-year-old child, they added.

"I strongly condemn the attack on the Imam Zaman Mosque," former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on X. "I consider this terrorist act to be against all religious and human standards."

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The "Islamic State" group's regional affiliate is a major Taliban rival and has recently claimed several attacks on schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas throughout the country.

rmt/wd (AFP, AP)