![Zainab Hosseini (3rd from left) is shown with relatives July 30. Her husband was killed in the ISIS-K attack on May 28 in Guzara district, Herat province. [Omar/Salaam Times]](/cnmi_st/images/2024/08/01/47248-k_1-739_416.webp)
HERAT -- Amid global concerns about security in Afghanistan, families who have lost loved ones in "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) attacks are experiencing increasing fear.
Zainab Hosseini, 42, lives with her eight fatherless children in Guzara district, Herat province.
On May 28 at a Shia mosque in Guzara, ISIS-K attackers shot her husband (an imam) and five other worshippers during evening prayers.
Hosseini remains traumatized, and the responsibility of raising eight children alone weighs heavily on her.
"I am afraid that ISIS-K might attack our mosque or town again," she told Salaam Times. "I am anxious that, God forbid, I might lose one or more of my children in another ISIS attack."
"I was very afraid of ISIS before, and it resulted in the loss of my husband. I witnessed ISIS brutality with my own eyes," she said. "ISIS militants show no mercy .... and I fear I might lose my children too."
The families of ISIS-K's victims are increasingly concerned about its activities, especially after a recent United Nations report warned that ISIS-K has become a serious threat to Afghanistan, the region and beyond.
ISIS-K has dispersed from its central areas in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces and some of its members have relocated to Herat province, the July 10 report said.
Living in grief and fear
Ghulam Reza Rezaei, 38, lost his wife in the same Guzara District terrorist act.
Now working as a laborer, he alone is responsible for raising their three children and fulfilling both parental roles.
Tears filled Rezaei's eyes as he spoke to Salaam Times. ISIS-K has left his children motherless and shattered his home, he said. He has not dared go to the mosque for prayers since the massacre.
"I am very afraid when I hear that ISIS is getting stronger in Afghanistan," he said. "The grief over my wife's death has not subsided in our home. ISIS is the cause of this pain and suffering."
"How long must we live in grief and fear because of ISIS? Our demand is that ISIS be stopped from massacring more innocent [Afghans]," he said.
Meysam Amiri, 17, a resident of Guzara district, lost his father in the same assault.
"ISIS killed my father, who was a laborer, in a house of worship," he said. "This group shows no mercy to anyone, and I am very afraid that it might kill me one day too."
"ISIS attacks have taken our sense of security, and all we think about is where the next attack will happen and which of our loved ones will be taken from us," he added.
For Afghanistan, Iran's strategy is to turn it into another Lebanon, where like Hezbollah, they would be constantly at war with the Western world and the United States on their behalf. Pakistan's strategy is clear: they want an Afghanistan that is hungry, needy, directionless, homeless, without any support, and completely under Pakistan's control. Russia is practically involved in every aspect of Afghanistan's potential disintegration, occasionally advocating for the establishment of a legitimate system only out of fear of ISIS and other terrorist groups. China is aggressively exploiting Afghanistan's raw materials and, in the past three years, has acquired numerous mining and other projects under various names, including "Afghan companies," and is continuously extracting resources. Like Iran and Russia, China wants a regime in Afghanistan that is anti-Western, particularly against the United States, but in practice does nothing and looks for an escape route in times of crisis. India supports a regime that maintains very poor relations with Pakistan and, in any way possible, continues some of its assistance to win the hearts of Afghans. Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan are only concerned with their regional projects and are indifferent to who governs the system, as long as their interests are well served. However, they are undoubtedly worried about the increasing terrorism in the region and occasionally raise their voices. So in such an environment, without a wise,
ReplyI personally don't trust politics or politicians. Politics is a deceptive game that disregards fundamental human values. Look at how many innocent women, children, and men have been killed by Israel, yet the entire world remains silent. Neither the United Nations nor any other organization has the strength to stop the oppression by the Jews. They are all the same.
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