30 people were martyred and 80 others were injured in a terrorist attack on the Seh Dokan mosque in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, capital of Balkh province on Thursday. The attack on Mazar-e-Sharif happened two days after an attack on a boys’ high school in a Shia-dominated district in the west of Kabul killed at least 26 pupils.
Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif is the largest Shia mosque located in a crowded place.
Afghanistan under the Taliban tenure witnessed five deadly explosions in two days: One in western Kabul on Tuesday, and four explosions in Kabul, Balkh, Kunduz and Nangarhar provinces on Friday.
Following the deadly terrorist attacks against Shias in Kabul and Balkh, a number of Kabul residents marched on Friday demanding that the interim Taliban governing body provide security for the Afghan Shias.
During the march, protesters chanted slogans such as "Being Hazara is not a crime, ensure our security", "We want justice" and so on.
The attacks were met with widespread reactions, with high-ranking officials from various countries condemning the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
On Friday, the Taliban claimed that the mastermind of the terrorist attack on the Shia mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif had been arrested, according to the Bakhtar news agency.
According to Bakhtar, the mastermind of the attack on the Shia mosque in Balkh province was Abdul Hamid Sangaryar, the governor that Daesh designated for Balkh province.
There is barely any doubt that the Takfiris and their allies are behind the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. Confronting this evil plan, which is intended to put entire Afghanistan and the region on fire, requires the unity of the Islamic Ummah.
Takfirists, Salafists, and ill-wishers of Afghanistan who seek to put citizens against each other by sowing discord between different sects of Islam see Daesh as an appropriate tool.
However, Western mainstream media outlets have been actively spreading a disinformation campaign, calling the recent attacks “genocide against Hazaras.”
Such a disinformation campaign came despite the fact that terrorists planted bombs in a Sunni mosque in Imam Sahib City in Kunduz province on Friday. Matiullah Rouhani, the head of the Taliban intelligence and culture in Kunduz province, confirmed the blast at the mosque in the province but did not provide further details. Later, local news sources reported that 60 worshippers were killed and 30 others were injured in the terrorist attack. According to these sources, a mine was planted in the pillar of the mosque, which was destroyed as a result of the explosion.
Meanwhile, a van exploded near Kunduz airport in front of a Taliban checkpoint Friday, killing and injuring 17 people.
On Saturday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said the current Afghan authorities are responsible for protecting all Afghans, including Shias.
Daesh does not differentiate between Shias, Sunnis, Hazaras, or Ismaeilis, when it comes to ripping the West Asian region apart. They are bound to obey whatever their masters tell them to do.
Battling an empowered Daesh in Afghanistan is not difficult. In this struggle, the Taliban bears a great responsibility to prove that it is on the side of the Afghan people.
First published in Tehran Times
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