ISIS-K terrorists gun down unarmed civilians in Daikundi

KABUL -- Militants killed a group of civilians in Daikundi province on September 12, the Afghan Interior Ministry said, in an attack that was claimed by the Khorasan branch of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS-K).

"Unknown gunmen have opened fire and have killed civilians," Abdul Matin Qani, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told AFP, adding further details would come later.

A source in the province who could not be identified for security reasons told AFP 14 people had been killed and at least four wounded.

The source said a group had gathered to welcome pilgrims returning from Karbala in Iraq, a Shia holy site.

Local media website TOLOnews reported 14 dead, according to sources.

An official at a hospital in the city of Nili, the provincial capital of Daikundi, said staff have been put on alert.

"They are informed to be prepared to receive and treat the wounded," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

ISIS-K has a history of targeting Shia, whom it considers heretics.

Earlier this month the group claimed a suicide attack in Kabul that killed six civilians, including a woman.

It also said it was behind an attack targeting tourists in Afghanistan in May that killed six people, including three foreigners.

A United Nations counterterrorism official warned this month that ISIS-K poses the greatest external terrorist threat to Europe, having "improved its financial and logistical capabilities in the past six months."

Since August 2021, outside observers have pointed to the resurgence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

The United Nations in July warned of the increasing activities of some groups in Afghanistan, including ISIS-K and al-Qaeda, and their potential threat to global security.

In August, Afghanistan Security Watch reported that ISIS-K had carried out 62 terrorist attacks nationwide in the past three years. The number has risen since then.