Afghan Shias bury dead as bombing toll mounts
Religious officials say at least 60 people have been killed in the second such attack on Shias by the Islamic State group
KANDAHAR: Afghanistan’s Shia minority buried their dead for the second Saturday in a row after another suicide bomb attack on a mosque claimed by the Islamic State group.
Religious authorities in the southern city of Kandahar told AFP the toll from Friday’s assault had reached 60, as hundreds of diggers opened row after row of graves in the dusty soil. The latest massacre came just a week after another IS-claimed attack on Shia worshippers at a mosque in the northern city of Kunduz that killed more than 60 people.
In a statement released on its Telegram channels, the jihadist group said two Islamic StateKhorasan (IS-K) suicide bombers carried out separate attacks on different parts of the mosque in Kandahar - the spiritual heartland of the Taliban -- while worshippers prayed inside.
The group, bitter rivals of felIn low Sunni Islamist movement the Taliban, who swept back to power in Afghanistan in August as the US and its allies withdrew, regards Shia Muslims as heretics. UK-based conflict analysis firm ExTrac said Friday’s assault was the first by IS-K in Kandahar, and the fourth mass casualty massacre since the Taliban took Kabul.
The killings triggered international condemnation. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned the “despicable attack” and demanded those using violence to restrict Afghans’ religious freedom be brought to justice.
At the gravesides, mourner Gul Ahmad told AFP of his grief over his brother’s slaying: “He had two little children. He had a home to live in. He had everything. The pain of the loss cannot be described with words.”
The crowd brought body after body, shrouded in white sheets, as a dust storm was whipped up by the constant digging.
“The world will remember this. The Islamic world will remember this barbarism, specifically the dignified people of Afghanistan,” warned another mourner, Muhammad Agha. the wake of the explosions, Kandahar police chief Maulvi Mehmood said security for the mosque had been provided by guards from the Shiite community but that following the “brutal attack” the Taliban would take charge of its protection.
“In future we will assign special security guards for the protection of mosques and Madrasas,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter by a Taliban spokesman.
US offers payments to survivors of drone strike
The Pentagon has offered unspecified condolence payments to the family of 10 civilians who were killed in a botched US drone attack in Afghanistan in August during the final days before US troops withdrew from the country.
The US defence department said it made a commitment that included offering “ex-gratia condolence payments”, in addition to working with the US state department in support of the family members who were interested in relocation to the US.
Ahmadi and others who were killed in the strike were innocent victims who bore no blame and were not affiliated with IS-K or threats to US forces, Kirby said.
The drone strike in Kabul killed as many as 10 civilians, including seven children.