KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in northern Sar-e-Pol province reported that at least seven people were injured in an attack on a Muharram mourning ceremony in the province.
According to sources, the incident took place around 11:00 am today in the Tawhid Abad neighborhood of Sar-e-Pol city, when an unidentified man on a motorcycle threw a hand grenade at the mourners.
No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
The Taliban authorities have not yet commented on the incident.
Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is observed annually by the Shia community with special ceremonies to commemorate the death anniversary of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
This is not the first time Shia Hazaras, a historically persecuted ethno-religious minority, have been targeted in mosques, schools, and other public places throughout Afghanistan.
Earlier in April, an unidentified armed man attacked Shia worshipers in a mosque in Guzara district of western Herat province, killing at least six people, including a local clergyman.
On October 13, 2023, an explosion during Friday prayers at a mosque in Pul-e Khumri, the capital of Baghlan, killed 50 Shias and injured dozens more.
On April 21, 2022, another attack killed 31 Hazara-Shia and injured 87 others at the Se Dukan Mosque in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
Most of the previous attacks on Hazara Shias have been claimed by the regional branch of the Islamic State, IS-KP, which views them as heretics. Since January, the terrorist group has claimed responsibility for at least three attacks on this community across Afghanistan.
