(Updating earlier copy)
New Delhi (NVI): At least 25 people were killed and eight injured after a group of terrorists today stormed a Sikh Dharamshala in Kabul, according to Afghan media reports.
After a six-hour gun battle with Afghan special forces, all four suicide bombers were killed, according to reports.
The terrorists targeted the religious place in Shorbazar area at around 7.45 am (8.45 am IST), the media quoted Tariq Arian, spokesman for Interior Ministry, as saying.
“80 people, including women and children, were rescued,” the Ministry of Interior was quoted as saying by Afghan media.
India has strongly condemned the terror attack, saying such cowardly attacks on the places of religious worship of the minority community, especially at this time of COVID 19 pandemic, is “reflective of the diabolical mindset of the perpetrators and their backers”.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also condemned the incident on Twitter.
“Suicide attack on a Gurudwara Sahib in Kabul needs to be strongly condemned. These killings are a grim reminder of atrocities that continue to be inflicted upon religious minorities in some countries & the urgency with which their lives & religious freedom have to be safeguarded,” he tweeted.
Suicide attack on a Gurudwara Sahib in Kabul needs to be strongly condemned. These killings are a grim reminder of atrocities that continue to be inflicted upon religious minorities in some countries & the urgency with which their lives & religious freedom have to be safeguarded. pic.twitter.com/yQM3u41dVI
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) March 25, 2020
Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has also strongly condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the victims’ families.
