KABUL: The Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a Sikh temple in Afghanistan that killed one community member and a Taliban fighter, saying it was retaliation for comments against the against Islam.
Protests in several Muslim countries were sparked by a spokeswoman for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party comments earlier this month.
In a message posted on its Amaq propaganda site, the Islamic State (IS) group said Saturday’s attack targeted Hindus and Sikhs and the “apostates” who protected them.
IS said one of its fighters “penetrated a temple for Hindu and Sikh polytheists in Kabul, after killing its guard, and opened fire on the pagans inside with his machine gun and hand grenades”.
Two were killed and at least seven others wounded in the raid.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the attackers lobbed at least one grenade when they entered the temple, setting off a blaze.
The attack follows a visit by an Indian delegation to Kabul to discuss the distribution of humanitarian aid from India to Afghanistan.
Afghan and Indian media reports said the delegation discussed with Taliban officials the possibility of reopening the Indian embassy, which shut after the Taliban seized power in August last year.