Six people were murdered on Monday in a gun attack on a Shiite mosque in western Afghanistan, which was claimed by the Islamic State organization.
According to a spokesman for the interior ministry, Abdul Mateen Qani, “an unknown armed person shot at civilian worshippers in a mosque” in the Guzara district of Herat province at approximately 9:00 p.m. (1630 GMT) on Tuesday morning.
“Six civilians were martyred and one civilian was injured,” he wrote on social media platform X.
In contrast to the official story of a lone attacker, the regional branch of the Islamic State (IS) organization claimed responsibility late on Tuesday and stated that multiple shooters had rushed the mosque with machine guns.
The mosque, which catered to the minority Shiite community and was situated somewhat south of the provincial capital Herat, was alleged to have killed several people, including an imam and a three-year-old kid.
They claimed that the attack was planned by a group of three gunmen.
“One of them was outside and two of them came inside the mosque, shooting the worshippers,” said 60-year-old Ibrahim Akhlaqi, the brother of the slain imam. “It was in the middle of prayers.”
“Whoever was in the mosque has either been martyred or wounded,” added 23-year-old Sayed Murtaza Hussaini.
In an apparent effort to minimize security risks, Taliban authorities have regularly minimized or provided casualty numbers from bombings and gun strikes that are higher than those provided by other sources.
