Kabul: An explosive device disrupted the funeral service for 25 members of Afghanistan's Sikh minority community, who were killed in an attack by the Islamic State group on their house of worship in the heart of the Afghan capital.
According to reports, the device exploded in a house in Qalacha area, an area very close to the cremation site. A second explosive device was later defused by Afghan security forces in the same area.
Explosion disrupts funeral service of Gurudwara attack victims in Kabul The funeral procession and cremation ceremony for those who were killed in suicide bombing, inside a prominent gurudwara, was held here in kabul on Thursday.
Read:'What is our sin'? ask Aghan gurdwara attack survivors; recall chilling brutality
Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar took to twitter and expressed concerns regarding the reported blast. “Deeply concerned at the blasts reported near the cremation site of those killed during the attack on Gurudwara Sahib in Kabul,” EAM wrote.
Jaishankar also said the Indian embassy was working to repatriate the body of Tian Singh. Though Singh’s wife, in her letter, had also called for those wounded in Wednesday’s attack to be shifted to New Delhi, Jaishankar said medical opinion was “against moving [the] injured at this stage”.
The external affairs minister said there was “understandable grief and anger” over the terror attack and the Indian embassy was in touch with the families of those killed and injured.
He added the Indian embassy was in touch with Afghan authorities to “ensure adequate security onsite as well as safe return of families to their homes,
Indian ambassador Vinay Kumar later visited the Gurudwara and met community leaders and families of the victims. He was told the injured were receiving satisfactory treatment.
Read:Over 25 killed in Afghanistan gurdwara attack
Unidentified gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a Sikh gurdwara in the heart of Afghanistan's capital of Kabul on Wednesday, killing more than 25 worshippers and wounding at least eight, in one of the deadliest attacks on the minority community in the country.
Within hours, the Islamic State group has claimed an attack on a Sikh-Hindu temple in central Kabul, according to the SITE intelligence group, in the latest assault by the extremist outfit targeting a minority group in Afghanistan.
The gunmen held many of the worshippers' hostage for several hours as Afghan special forces, helped by international troops, tried to clear the building. At least one of the dead was a child.
All 4 terrorists have been killed by Afghan security forces.
As the siege ended, the Afghan special forces rescued at least 80 worshippers who had been trapped inside the Sikh house of worship, known as Gurdwara, as the gunmen lobbed grenades and fired automatic rifles into the crowd, the ministry said.
Sikhs have suffered widespread discrimination in the conservative Muslim country and have also been targeted by Islamic extremists. Under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, they were asked to identify themselves by wearing yellow armbands, but the rule was not enforced. In recent years, large numbers of Sikhs and Hindus have sought asylum in India, which has a Hindu majority and a large Sikh population.
In July 2018, a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus was attacked by an Islamic State suicide bomber as they were on their way to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in the eastern city of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province. Nineteen people were killed in that attack.
(with inputs from AP)
