Security forces thwart ISIS-K attack during Ashura, arrest several members in Kabul

KABUL -- In a special operation targeting an "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) hideout in Kabul, Afghan security forces arrested several suspects accused of planning a terrorist attack during Ashura.

Security forces conducted the operation July 10 in the fifth district of Kabul. They released the news to the media on July 13.

The exact number of suspected ISIS affiliates arrested remains unclear.

Officials reported that they seized a significant cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives in the suspects' possession.

The leader of the ISIS-K hideout in Kabul was identified as an Afghan citizen, according to authorities.

One of the masterminds of an ISIS-K attack on a vehicle carrying civilians in the Kote Sangi area of Kabul in April was among those arrested during the operation, officials said.

A magnetic mine explosion targeted the passenger vehicle in Kabul on April 2, killing one civilian and injuring three others.

Authorities recovered a list of names of several politicians and religious scholars from the detained ISIS-K members, indicating that the group intended to assassinate them, and some had already been killed, officials said.

They discovered another list of targeted individuals living in Pakistan and another neighboring country.

Preventing further bloodshed

Participants in the Ashura ceremony in Herat welcomed the crackdown on ISIS-K.

Ashura, when worshippers gather at mosques and march in processions marking the death of the Shia Imam Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was commemorated July 15-16.

If these ISIS-K members had not been arrested, they could have killed hundreds of innocent Afghans, said Ghulam Yahya Haidari, 53, an Ashura mourner in Herat city.

"A few days ago, several ISIS terrorists were also arrested in Herat," he said. "It was not clear what happened to them afterward."

"The arrested ISIS members are those who have killed thousands of innocent people, including children," Haidari said. "They should be dealt with seriously to somewhat alleviate the pain of the families of ISIS's victims."

"ISIS has always attacked Ashura ceremonies, and it is necessary to stop this group so that the public can hold its mourning ceremonies in peace," said Mohammad Faizi, 21, another Ashura mourner in Herat.

"These individuals must be punished as a lesson to other terrorist groups," he added. "ISIS has caused grief to [Afghans] and martyred their loved ones."