Attacks on Afghan Shias claim 32 lives

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

A second deadly attack on Afghanistan's Shia community has meant at least 32 have been killed in less than 24 hours.

The northern Balkh province's police spokesman Sher Jan Durrani said a roadside explosive killed 14 people when it was detonated during a traditional Shia procession on the day of Ashura, when they mark the anniversary of the death of Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

The blast also wounded at least 25 others and closely followed another attack on Tuesday night, when a gunman killed 18 people at a Shia shrine in the capital Kabul.

Six years ago similar twin-attacks on Shia Muslims in Kabul and Balkh claimed over 50 lives and in July this year 80 were killed in an attack on a rally being held by the ethnic Hazara minority, who are also Shia.

Despite the recent violence, Afghans had considered such sectarian violence rare in their country compared to neighbors, especially Pakistan where militants have often targeted Shia minorities.