Deadly Attack on Worshippers in Bamyan; Assailants Reportedly Linked to ISIS

DID Press: At least six worshippers were killed and over 30 others injured in a deadly shooting on Monday evening in Mohammadkicheh village, Shibar district of central Bamyan province.

Local sources say the attackers were followers of Salafi ideology who had recently joined ISIS. According to these sources, the assailants stormed a mosque during evening prayers, targeting worshippers of Hanafi school of thought.

However, Taliban governor’s office in Bamyan downplayed the incident, attributing it to “personal disputes” and reporting only 10 injuries.

Reports suggest that Jalmish village and several other areas in Shibar have recently become recruitment hubs for ISIS. Sectarian tensions between Hanafis and Salafis in the region have also been reported in the past.

Analysts warn that the spread of extremist ideology in Afghanistan’s central provinces can further pave the way for the resurgence of terrorist groups—a threat that, in the absence of an accountable government, can have dire and irreversible consequences.