Deadly ISIS raid on Sikh temple

ISIS claimed responsibility for a weekend attack on a Sikh temple in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, that killed at least one worshipper and wounded seven others.

The Islamic militant group made the claim in a statement on its Amaq website late Saturday. The statement said the assault on “the Sikh and Hindu temple” was in response to alleged insults made against the Prophet Mohammed, Islam’s central figure, by an Indian government official it did not name.

Gunmen attacked the Sikh house of worship Saturday morning, and a firefight between the attackers and Taliban fighters seeking to protect the building ensued, Afghan officials said.

A vehicle filled with explosives was detonated outside the temple, but that resulted in no casualties. Before that, the gunmen threw a hand grenade that caused a fire near the temple’s gate, the officials said.

The extremists said Abu Mohammed al-Tajiki, a member of the group, stormed the temple after killing the guard and then targeted the people inside with machine-gun fire and hand grenades.

ISIS fighters outside the temple detonated four explosive devices and a car bomb targeting patrols of Taliban militia who tried to protect the temple. The battle ended after three hours, the Amaq report said.

The Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil-rights organization based in the United States, said the temple was significantly damaged by the attack.

“The recurring tragic violence targeting the Afghan Sikh community is devastating, but also entirely predictable and preventable,” Anisha Singh, the group’s executive director, said in a statement late Saturday.

“The international community, and in particular the United States, continues to fall short of urgentlyneeded efforts to protect and safely resettle all Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.”