The attack took place this morning. The terrorist – all Pakistani nationals – burst into the worship place disguised as policemen. Sources told AsiaNews: “The tension rises day by day. But Islam in Afghanistan is moderate and people are exhausted by unemployment and political mismanagement”.

Kabul (AsiaNews) - Two armed men attacked a Shia mosque in Kabul in the early hours of Thursday. Three worshippers have been hurt. The attackers were wearing Afghan police uniforms and were Pakistani nationals. They were both killed by Afghan security forces shortly after the attack. There has been no claim of responsibility for the assault, but officials blame the Taliban militants for such attacks.

The mosque is in the mainly Shia Dashte Barche area in western Kabul. The attackers were armed with AK-47 assault rifles, knives and explosives, officials say.

Although tensions do exists between Afghanistan's Sunni and minority Shia Muslims, most attacks in Afghanistan in recent years have targeted government officials or security forces.

However, AsiaNews sources, requesting anonymity for security reasons, explain that "tension is getting higher and there are fears for a major attack at any moment. People are experiencing a deep sense of insecurity, fueled by continuous attacks and political class' inability to bring stability". Moreover "Islam in Afghanistan is moderate, peaceful, quite far from the one showed by Talibans. At cost of common people, who already have a strong problem of unemployment. And the few who have jobs receive a pitiful wage", they said.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a report on July 31 that civilian deaths were up 23 percent in the first six months of 2013 compared to the previous year. 

From January to June, the number of civilians killed in war-related incidents rose to 1,319 from 1,158 a year earlier. In the same period, 2,533 civilians were injured, compared to 1,976 in 2012. 

 

• afghanistan
• islam
• shia
• mosque
• attack
• taliban