Kabul/Chandigarh: As per latest reports, at least 25 people are killed in attack on Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan.
The deadly attack was claimed by the The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Earlier, the Taliban denied it was behind the attack.
Sikh groups from across the globe have condemned the deadly attack on Gurdwara Sahib in Kabul.
Media reports say that all four attackers are also killed by Afghan armed forces.
ਅਫਗਾਨਿਸਤਾਨ ਦੇ ਕਾਬੁਲ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਉੱਪਰ ਹੋਏ ਹਮਲੇ ਬਾਬਤ ਮੌਕੇ ਤੋਂ ਇੱਕ ਸਿੱਖ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਸਾਂਝੀ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਦੀ ਵੀਡੀਓ। ਪਿੱਛੇ ਗੋਲੀਆਂ ਚੱਲਣ ਦੀ ਆਵਾਜ ਸੁਣੀ ਜਾ ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈ। ਬਾਅਦ ਵਿੱਚ ਆਈਆਂ ਤਸਵੀਰਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਪਤਾ ਲੱਗਦਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਅਫਗਾਨ ਫੌਜਾਂ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਕੱਢ ਲਿਆ ਗਿਆ। https://t.co/B96YSjsWdy
— Sikh Siyasat News (@sikhsiyasat) March 25, 2020
Sikhs in Afghanistan
Sikhs have suffered widespread discrimination in the country and have also been targeted by armed groups.
In 1990s there were more than 50000 Sikhs in Afghanistan, now the number is less than 300 families.
In 2018, a suicide bombing targeting the Sikh community and claimed by ISIL killed 19 Sikhs in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
Under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, Sikhs were asked to identify themselves by wearing yellow armbands, but the rule was not enforced.
In recent years, large numbers of Sikhs and Hindus have sought asylum in India.
Timing of the Attack:
The attack comes a day after the US said it would cut its aid to the Afghan government by $1bn over frustrations that feuding political leaders could not reach an agreement and form a team to negotiate with the Taliban.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Kabul on Tuesday in a bid to resolve a standoff between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who also proclaimed himself president following a contested election.
The US and the Taliban signed a deal last month that was supposed to pave the way for talks between the Afghan leadership and the rebels, but with Kabul unable to agree on who is in government, the talks have stalled.
A number of photographs of the attack have surfaced: