Islamic State (IS) on Wednesday claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 18 worshippers at a shrine in the Afghan capital, raising fears of sectarian violence after a string of attacks on the country’s Shia minority.
The claim of responsibility for Tuesday’s attack, released online, came as the minority gathered to observe Ashura, one of its holiest days, in commemorations subdued because of security fears, as well as the funerals of the dead.
On Wednesday afternoon, a second explosion outside a mosque in northern Afghanistan killed at least 14 people and wounded 24 at a similar Ashura gathering. But there was no immediate claim of responsibility for that blast.
Islamic State also targeted members of Kabul’s Shia community in a suicide bombing in July that killed more than 80 people and wounded 130. The attacker in Kabul, said to be wearing a police uniform, entered the Karte Shakhi mosque on Tuesday night and opened fire on a crowd of Shia Muslims gathered for Ashura, which marks the seventh-century death of a grandson of the prophet Mohammed. In its statement, Islamic State said the attacker detonated a suicide vest after firing all his ammunition, but security forces said they shot the man.
A Reuters video shows the suspected attacker’s body intact, with no sign of an explosive vest.
The dead included four women and two children, said the United Nations, which put the overall death toll at 18 deaths.