Death Toll From Attack On Sikh Temple In Kabul Rises To 25, Attacker Killed - Ministry

Death Toll From Attack on Sikh Temple in Kabul Rises to 25, Attacker Killed - Ministry

A security operation that was ongoing in the Sikh temple in Kabul since Wednesday morning has ended in killing the attacker, the Afghan Interior Ministry said, noting that 25 worshipers had been killed in the attack

KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2020) A security operation that was ongoing in the Sikh temple in Kabul since Wednesday morning has ended in killing the attacker, the Afghan Interior Ministry said, noting that 25 worshipers had been killed in the attack.

At around 7:45 a.m. local time (03:15 GMT), eyewitnesses reported that attackers broke into the place of worship, located in Kabul's Shor Bazar central district. Previous reports said about 11 fatalities.

In a fresh statement, the ministry updated the death toll, saying that 25 Hindu and Sikh worshipers had been killed, eight injured and 80 others were rescued after a lone attacker went on a rampage in the temple.

"The Kabul attack is over, and the attacker has been killed in an operation by Afghan forces after six hours of clash," the ministry's spokesman, Tariq Aryan, said, noting that the clashes finished at 2 p.m.

The Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) has taken responsibility for the attack. The Taliban have denied any involvement in it.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the National Security Council, the US embassy in Kabul, the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministries have already denounced the attack.