KABUL (Reuters) – Two people died in a car bomb explosion outside a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital on Saturday and in the ensuing security operation, the ruling Taliban in Kabul said.
A Taliban official said the car bomb exploded before reaching its target after being intercepted by security forces.
“About 30 people were in the temple,” said Gornam Singh, a Sikh temple official. “We don’t know how many of them are alive or how many are dead. The Taliban won’t let us in, we don’t know what to do,” he added.
A Kabul police spokesman said the attack left two dead: a Sikh worshiper killed in the blast, as well as a Taliban during the security operation. Seven people were injured.
The attack has not been claimed but the modus operandi corresponds to that of the Islamic State (IS) group, which regularly attacks religious minorities in Afghanistan. In 2020, an IS attack on another Sikh temple left 25 dead.
The Sikh community numbered only a few hundred before the Taliban took Kabul last year. The Indian Foreign Ministry has expressed its concern after this new attack.
(Report Mohammad Yunus Yawar; French version Camille Raynaud and Tangi Salaün)
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