A gunman opened fire in a Shiite shrine in Kabul on Tuesday morning, killing 14 people before Afghan security forces killed him, reported Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs.

The attack happened about 7:50 a.m. at the Karte Sakhi shrine. A police officer and a child were killed and 36 people were wounded, including 19 women, Sediqqi said.

After a two-hour gunbattle, security forces killed the gunman. No group has claimed responsibility yet.

Another mass killing occurred in Kabul on August 24, when attackers killed 13 people at Kabul University . Police killed two attackers and a third attacker died when he detonated an explosive-laden vehicle, authorities said.

In July, at least 80 people died in an attack on a minority group's peaceful demonstration in Kabul. ISIS claimed responsibility.</s>A gunman opened fire in a Shiite shrine in Kabul on Tuesday morning, killing 14 people before Afghan security forces killed him, reported Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs.

The attack happened about 7:50 a.m. at the Karte Sakhi shrine. A police officer and a child were killed and 36 people were wounded, including 19 women, Sediqqi said.

After a two-hour gunbattle, security forces killed the gunman. No group has claimed responsibility yet.

Another mass killing occurred in Kabul on August 24, when attackers killed 13 people at Kabul University . Police killed two attackers and a third attacker died when he detonated an explosive-laden vehicle, authorities said.

In July, at least 80 people died in an attack on a minority group's peaceful demonstration in Kabul. ISIS claimed responsibility.</s>Gunman kills 14 at shrine in Afghan capital Kabul, police say

Updated

At least 14 people have been killed after a gunman in a police uniform opened fire on worshippers gathered at a shrine in the Afghan capital of Kabul for a Shiite holy day, officials said.

Thirteen civilians and one police officer died and 36 people were wounded, Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack

Ministry of Public Health officials said at least 43 people had been injured in the incident and had been taken to hospitals in the city for treatment.

The attack began just before 8:00pm (local time), police said, with witnesses reporting an explosion followed by gunfire.

Initial reports put the number of attackers at three, but Sediqqi said police special forces who responded to the scene found and killed only one gunman.

The attacker was dressed in a police uniform, according to a police official.

Security forces at the scene evacuated the shrine as the attack unfolded, said Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi.

The attack occurred at one of Kabul's largest shrines as Shiite Muslims gathered to observe the Ashura holy day, which commemorates the 7th century death of a grandson of the prophet Mohammed.

Afghanistan has largely avoided widespread sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, but Afghanistan's Shiite minority has complained of discrimination and has faced increased threats.

At least 84 people were killed and another 130 injured in a suicide attack on a Shiite demonstration in July.

That attack, during a protest march in Kabul, was also claimed by Islamic State militants.

In 2011, Ashura gatherings were targeted by suicide bombers in Kabul and the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, killing about 80 people altogether.

Reuters

Topics: terrorism, death, afghanistan

First posted</s>KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Gunmen, reportedly wearing Afghan police uniforms, stormed a packed shrine for Shi’ite Muslims in Kabul late Tuesday and opened fire, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 30 others.

Officials and witnesses said a suicide bomber blew himself up as the assault began in the Kart-e-Sakhi area of the capital city, while two others were shot and killed by security forces, ending an hours-long siege.

Health officials confirmed at least 16 women were among those wounded and taken to hospitals.

Tuesday was the ninth day of Moharram, the first month on the Muslim calendar.

Shi’ites around the world conduct processions and gather in large groups to mourn the killing of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad on the ninth and 10th of the month.

Security was particularly tight in Kabul for the annual Shi’ite religious rituals. Afghan authorities, fearing an attack, had requested the community not carry out large street processions but to gather inside their mosques or shrines.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly assault.

On Wednesday, the Shi’ite community will mark Ashura, the peak of Moharram. Attacks against Shi’ites are not uncommon in Afghanistan. Shi’ites comprise 15 percent of the country’s estimated 30 million people.

Militants, including the Taliban and Islamic State, consider Shi’ites apostates and are blamed for the sectarian violence.</s>A gunman opened fire in a Shiite shrine in Kabul on Tuesday morning, killing 14 people before Afghan security forces killed him, reported Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs.

The attack happened about 7:50 a.m. at the Karte Sakhi shrine. A police officer and a child were killed and 36 people were wounded, including 19 women, Sediqqi said.

After a two-hour gunbattle, security forces killed the gunman. No group has claimed responsibility yet.

Another mass killing occurred in Kabul on August 24, when attackers killed 13 people at Kabul University . Police killed two attackers and a third attacker died when he detonated an explosive-laden vehicle, authorities said.

In July, at least 80 people died in an attack on a minority group's peaceful demonstration in Kabul. ISIS claimed responsibility.
A gunman kills 14 people at a Shi'ite shrine in Kabul on a holy day.