IS claims deadly attack in central Afghanistan

Gunmen killed a group of civilians in central Afghanistan on Thursday, the interior ministry said, in an attack that was claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State group.

"Fifteen Shiite (Muslims) were killed and six others wounded in an attack carried out by the soldiers of the caliphate in central Afghanistan," the group's Amaq media wing said in a statement.

Attacks in Afghanistan have declined markedly since the Taliban ended their insurgency when they seized power in 2021, but a number of armed groups, including the regional Islamic State-Khorasan, remain a threat.

"Unknown gunmen have opened fire and have killed civilians," Abdul Matin Qani, spokesman for the Interior Ministry told AFP, adding further details on the attack in Daykundi province would be announced later.

A source in the province which could not be identified for security reasons told AFP 14 people had been killed and at least four wounded.

The source said a group had gathered to welcome pilgrims returning from Karbala in Iraq, a Shiite holy site.

Local media website TOLOnews reported a death toll of 14, according to sources.

An official at a hospital in the city of Nili, the provincial capital of Daykundi said staff have been put on alert.

"They are informed to be prepared to receive and treat the wounded," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, is the group's Afghanistan branch, "Khorasan" referring to a historical region that included parts of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

The regional chapter of IS has a history of targeting Shiites they consider heretics but is also a rival of the Taliban, with whom the group shares an austere Sunni ideology.

The Taliban government has repeatedly played down the threat it poses.

Earlier this month the group claimed a suicide attack in the Afghan capital that killed six people.

It also said it was behind an attack targeting tourists in Afghanistan in May that killed six people, including three foreigners.

And in March, IS showed its wider capabilities by attacking a Moscow concert hall and killing 145 people.

A UN counter-terrorism official warned this month that IS-K poses the greatest external terrorist threat to Europe, having "improved its financial and logistical capabilities in the past six months".

Chief Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the concerns raised were "driven by propaganda" and that the group had been "significantly weakened" in Afghanistan.