What happened?
At least 100 people have been killed and several others injured after a suicide
bombing targeted a Shiite Mosque in Kunduz City, the capital of the Kunduz
Province of North-Eastern Afghanistan. The incident occurred when devotees
were offering Friday prayers at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque. The Friday
noon prayer is the highlight of the Muslim religious week, and mosques are
typically crowded. Dost Mohammad Obaida, the Deputy Police Chief for Kunduz
Province, said that a “majority of them have been killed.” He said the attack may
have been carried out by a suicide bomber who must have mingled among the
worshippers inside the mosque. “I assure our Shiite brothers that the Taliban
are prepared to ensure their safety,'' he said, reassuring the community of their
security, adding that the investigation was underway so that justice could be
served to the perpetrators of the ghastly attack. The chief Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted, “This afternoon, an explosion took place in a Shiite
mosque in Khan Abad Bandar area of Kunduz City, as a result of which a
number of our compatriots were martyred and wounded. Special forces have
arrived at the scene and are investigating.”
Which terror outfit claimed responsibility for the terror attack and what were the motives behind it?
An affiliate of the Islamic State, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province, took
responsibility for the attack. This group has a long history of targeting the
minority Shias of Afghanistan who constitute about 20% of the Afghan
population. The Shias mainly belong to the Hazara ethnic tribe and have been persecuted and targeted for decades by both, the Taliban and the ISIS-K. The
ISIS-K is a sworn enemy of the Taliban and has been carrying out multiple
terror attacks in Afghanistan in recent months to challenge the Taliban as it
moves from insurgency to governance.
The list of terror attacks carried out by the ISIS-K in recent months includes:-
1. The Kabul School bombing on the 8th of May, 2021, caused 85 casualties
(mostly Shia girls aged between 11-15).
2. The terror attack on the Hamid Karzai International Airport of Kabul that
occurred on 26th of August, 2021 killed at least 182 people, including 13
members of the United States military.
3. A suicide bombing took place on the 3rd of October, 2021 at the gates of
the Eidgah Mosque in Kabul, where prayers were being held for the mother of
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Muhajid, who passed away recently, claiming
the lives of 5-7 people.
4. Four explosions took place in Nangarhar's capital Jalalabad which
targeted a Taliban patrol vehicle and another explosion occurred in
Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood on September 18, 2021. Seven
casualties were reported.
5. Four explosions and an attack by gunmen targeting a Taliban patrol
vehicle took place again in Jalalabad on the 22nd of September, 2021, killing at least 5 people.
The ISIS-K identified the bomber as a member of the Uighur Muslim
community originating from the Xinjiang province of China, a community that
has been facing state-sponsored persecution and systematic oppression under
the Chinese regime. In recent months, the Taliban has been expanding its
engagement with China and has even described Beijing as a ‘top ally,’
welcoming Chinese investment in the country, a move which further increased
unrest among Uighur militant groups. On the 28 th of July, the Chinese foreign
minister Wang Yi had a meeting in Tianjin, China with Abdul Ghani Baradar ,
who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan and co-founder of Taliban, to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation between the Taliban and China. The Uighur population of Afghanistan consists mainly of refugees who have fled Chinese persecution over the years. The ISIS-K says that the attack targeted both the Taliban regime and the Shias for their “willingness to expel the Uighur Muslims at China’s behest.” Taliban’s growing ties with the Chinese state has made it very easy for the ISIS-K to recruit Uighur Muslims as fighters in their ranks. The Taliban, on the other hand, has declared war on the ISIS-K and has been conducting multiple military strikes against them in recent weeks. Caught in between all of this are the common civilians of Afghanistan for whom there is no end to this bloodbath.
Comments