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ISLAMABAD —Taliban authorities in Afghanistan confirmed Friday that gunmen killed at least 14 Shiite Muslims and injured six others in an overnight attack in a central province. A local affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesperson, confirmed the casualties resulting from what he denounced as a "barbaric act" against Afghan civilians in the province of Daykundi.
"While we extend our deepest condolences to the victims of the incident, we are making serious efforts to apprehend the perpetrators and ensure they are held accountable," Mujahid stated on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. His statement came hours after local media quoted area residents and sources as confirming that the violence had resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people and injuries to several others.
The Islamic State group said through its Amaq news agency that "soldiers" of its Afghan offshoot, the Islamic State Khorasan, also known as IS-K, were behind the shooting. It claimed that "15 Shiite [Muslims] were killed, and six others wounded."
Daykundi residents said the victims had gathered to welcome pilgrims returning from the Shiite holy site of Karbala in Iraq.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur on the Afghan human rights situation, denounced Thursday's violence.
"Yesterday's appalling ISKP-claimed killings of #Hazara from #Daykundi.... bears hallmarks of int'l crimes," Bennett said Friday on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "I'm alarmed about the spate of ISKP-claimed attacks. Need for prevention, protection & (international) accountability #Afghanistan," he wrote, using an acronym for IS-K.
The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan three years ago and say their counterterrorism operations have since "almost decimated" IS-K in the country. However, U.S. officials and recent United Nations reports dispute the claims, identifying IS-K as a growing terrorism threat to the region and beyond.
Earlier this month, IS-K claimed a suicide bombing in the Afghan capital that killed six people. In May, the group took responsibility for an attack by gunmen in the central Bamiyan province that killed three Spanish tourists and their local translator. In March, IS-K claimed that it was behind an attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed 145 Russians.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid reiterated in a statement last week that "concerns raised by Western countries and institutions regarding the presence and escalating threat" of IS-K in Afghanistan were "unfounded and driven by propaganda."
Mujahid claimed that "the entire Afghan territory remains firmly under the control of the Islamic Emirate, leaving no room for independent or external groups to operate." The Taliban refer to their administration as the Islamic Emirate.
No country has officially recognized the Taliban government in Kabul, mainly because of human rights concerns and extensive restrictions the Islamist Taliban have placed on women's access to education, work, and public life at large.