The jihadist group "Islamic State" claimed responsibility for this week's deadly gun attack on worshipers from the country's Shiite minority at a mosque in western Afghanistan that killed six people, the Associated Press reported, citing BTA.
The armed group announced in a statement on the social platform "X" last night that one of its members carried out an attack with an assault rifle in a "Shia temple" in the western Afghan province of Herat. One person was also injured in the attack in Guzara.
AP specifies that the perpetrator fled the crime scene. The Interior Ministry of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban announced that an investigation is underway.
According to information in the local media, to which the Associated Press refers, the imam of the mosque is among those killed. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan condemned the attack, announcing that a child was among the victims.
The mission called for the immediate prosecution of the culprits and measures to protect the Shia Muslim community in Afghanistan.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai wrote on the social platform "X" that "this terrorist act is contrary to all religious and human values".
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today that "the people and government of Pakistan extend their sincerest condolences to the people of Afghanistan.
"At this sad hour, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," the department said in a statement. It added that Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms.
AP states that the Afghan branch of the "Islamic State" is a major opponent of the Taliban and frequently attacks schools, hospitals, mosques and Shia-populated areas across the country.