An Afghan policeman stands guard close to the location of an assault in Kabul, Afghanistan March 25, 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS
KABUL: Unidentified gunmen and suicide bombers attacked a Sikh spiritual advanced within the Afghan capital of Kabul on Wednesday, and as much as 200 folks had been believed to be trapped inside, a member of parliament mentioned.
Afghan safety forces had blocked off the world and had been taking up the attackers, Inside Ministry spokesperson Tariq Arian mentioned in a message to journalists.
It was not instantly clear what number of attackers there have been or who they had been. It was not identified if there have been any casualties.
Sikhs have been the goal of assault by militants earlier than in South Asia. A Taliban spokesperson, in a message on Twitter, denied accountability for the assault.
Narender Singh Khalsa, a member of parliament who represents the tiny Sikh group, mentioned he had reviews that 4 folks had been killed and as much as 200 folks trapped contained in the temple within the early morning assault.
“Three suicide bombers entered a dharamsala,” he mentioned, referring to a sanctuary space in a temple compound.
“The gunmen started their attack at a time when the dharamsala was full of worshippers,” he mentioned.
He mentioned the Afghan safety forces had been clashing with the attackers.
The assault comes a day after the US mentioned it will lower its assist to the federal government by $1 billion over frustrations that feuding political leaders couldn’t attain an settlement and kind a crew to barter with the Taliban.
The Inside Ministry spokesperson mentioned Afghan safety forces had cleared one ground of the advanced and had been transferring slowly to try to keep away from civilian casualties.
Sikhs are a small spiritual minority in Afghanistan with numbers fewer than 300 households.
In 2018, a suicide bombing concentrating on the Sikh group and claimed by the Islamic State militant group killed greater than a dozen folks within the japanese Afghan metropolis of Jalalabad.
The USA final month struck a take care of the Taliban on the withdrawal of US-led worldwide troops however the settlement doesn’t embrace Islamic State militants.
