Six 'civilian worshippers' killed as gunman storms into mosque in Afghanistan's Guzara

A gunman stormed into a mosque in Western Afghanistan on Monday night (Apr 29) and killed six 'civilian worshippers', a government spokesperson informed Tuesday.

As per Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani, around 9:00 pm (1630 GMT) on Monday,"an unknown armed person shot at civilian worshippers in a mosque" in Herat province's Guzara district.

Mosque worshippers targeted

"Unfortunately, at 9:00 p.m. today in Herat province, in the Shahrak area of ​​Guzrah district, an unknown armed person shot with a Kalashnikov at the worshippers of the mosque, as a result of which six civilians were martyred, and a civilian was injured. The details will be shared later," Qani wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) early Tuesday morning.

متأسفانه ساعت ۹:۰۰ بجه شب امروز در ولایت هرات در منطقه شهرک ولسوالی گذره، یک فرد مسلح ناشناس با کلاشینکوف به سمت نمازگزاران مسجد تیراندازی کرده که در نتیجه آن ۶ تن افراد ملکی شهید و یک غیرنظامی زخمی شدند، جزئیات بعدا شریک خواهد شد. — Mufti Abdul Mateen Qani - مفتي عبدالمتين قانع (@abdulmateenqani) April 29, 2024

According to the domestic media channel TOLOnews, the mosque belonged to Afghanistan's minority Shiite community.

Graphic images of those killed are being shared across social media.Kabul Now, citing health officials at the Herat Provincial Hospital, reported that among the victims was the Imam of the community mosque, Sheikh Javid. Other victims included four men, a woman, and a child.

Several others, including women, were injured. Two of the injuredhad to be transported to the hospital for immediate medical attention.

While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the Afghanistan-based chapter of Islamic State (IS) is the largest security threat in Afghanistan and has been known to frequently target Shiite communities.

Iran condemns attack

Taking to X, Iran, which has a majority Shia community, condemned the attack and demanded "the identification and punishment of the perpetrators."

The nation's Kabul embassy also declared its "readiness to strengthen cooperation with the caretaker government of Afghanistan to fight terrorism".

سفارت ج.ا.ایران ضمن محکومیت حادثه تروریستی مسجد امام زمان (عج) ولسوالی گذره ولایت هرات که منجر به جراحت و شهادت جمعی از نمازگزاران شد، خواستار شناسایی و مجازات مرتکبین این جنایت میباشد و آمادگی خود را جهت تقویت همکاری با حکومت سرپرست افغانستان جهت مبارزه با تروریسم اعلام می نماید pic.twitter.com/zN68e6amrY — Embassy of the I.R. Iran in Kabul, Afghanistan (@IRANinKabul) April 29, 2024

Hazaras in Afghanistan a usual target

Taliban officials have blamed Islamic State terror groupfor the attack.

As per Kabul Now, this is not the first time Shia Hazaras, a historically persecuted ethno-religious minority, have been tormented by extremist groups in Afghanistan.

Previously, on December 1, 2023, armed men killed five Hazara men in Herat’s Jebrail district. Back then, assailants riding a motorbikeopened fire on the civilians who were travelling on a rickshaw.

(With inputs from agencies)