Islamic State claims Kabul attack

cleared. Spokesman Tariq Aryan said eight were wounded in addition to the 25 killed. Afghan security forces rescued 80 others from the site, he said.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted by the group’s media arm, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks the online postings of Islamist militant organizations.

Although Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared that the Islamic State was defeated late last year, officials estimated Islamic State fighters scattered across the country number in the hundreds. The group’s supply and recruitment networks were also believed to be badly damaged and for months last year the extremists were unable to carry out attacks in Kabul.

The Taliban denied any involvement in the attack yesterday. After signing a peace deal with the United States last month, the group has been under pressure to reduce violence and enter into talks with the Afghan government.

But the Islamic State is allied with neither the government nor the Taliban and has continued its attacks.

The lone gunman began firing on worshippers during a ceremony at the temple in a congested part of the Afghan capital.

Aryan, the interior ministry spokesman, said the shooting was the first such attack on a house of worship used by Sikh and Hindu minorities in Kabul.

The sound of at least one blast was heard from the area during the attack. – Washington Post