Gunman kills six in attack on Afghan mosque

KABUL

A gunman stormed a mosque in western Afghanistan and killed six people, a government spokesman said Tuesday, with local residents claiming the minority Shiite community had been targeted.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said that "an unknown armed person shot at civilian worshippers in a mosque" in Herat province's Guzara district on Monday at around 9 p.m.

"Six civilians were martyred and one civilian was injured," he wrote on social media platform X early yesterday morning.

Locals said the mosque served the minority Shiite community in a district just south of the provincial capital of Herat city, and the imam and a three-year-old child were among those killed.

They also said a team of three gunmen staged the attack, contradicting the official account.

"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 the prayers."

"Whoever was in the mosque has either been martyred or wounded," added 23-year-old Sayed Murtaza Hussaini.

While no group has claimed the attack, the regional chapter of ISIL is the largest security threat in Afghanistan and has frequently targeted Shiite communities.

The Taliban government has pledged to protect religious and ethnic minorities since returning to power in August 2021, but rights monitors say they've done little to make good on that promise.