Shia Muslims Targeted In Kabul Shrine Attack

NEW DELHI: At least 14 people have been killed in an attack on a shrine in the Afghan capital of Kabul, as a gunman opened fire on Tuesday on worshippers gathered for Ashura, a commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Karte Sakhi shrine.

The attack targeted one of the cities largest shrines, with an ensuing gunbattle resulting in the death of the attacker. At the time of writing, no group has as yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Attacks targeting Shias in Afghanistan, however, are becoming increasingly commonplace, with the most brutal attack on the community in recent years taking place in July this year, as 80 people were killed when a bomber targeted a protest march by members of the Hazara minority - a Shia minority group. The so-called Islamic State claimed the attack, marking a decisive shift in the nature of attacks in Afghanistan, as before the July attack, Afghanistan had not seen the same level of violence against Shia Muslims as neighbouring Pakistan.

The latest attack in Kabul follows a string of attacks in recent weeks, as well as a renewed push by the Taliban to take control of the capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gah, in the south as well as the city of Kunduz, which had briefly fallen to the group last year.

Reports from the ground state that Lashkar Gah is in lockdown with only a few shops open and many families trying to flee the fighting. Schools and universities across the province have been closed indefinitely.

Afghan and NATO forces repeatedly insist that neither Lashkar Gah or Kunduz are at risk of falling to the Taliban, but reports from the ground differ as the Taliban closes in on both cities and controls large swathes of the surrounding territory.

In fact, as a glossed over report submitted to Congress by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction noted earlier in the year, the Taliban now controls more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since US troops went in in 2001. In the first five months of 2016, the government lost control of nearly 5 percent of its territory to the Taliban since the beginning of the year. The area under Afghan government "control or influence" decreased to 65.6 percent by the end of May from 70.5 percent last year, based on data provided by US forces in Afghanistan.

Conservative estimates indicate that of 407 districts within the 34 provinces, 268 districts were under government control or influence, 36 districts (8.8%) within 15 provinces were under insurgent control or influence, and 104 districts (25.6 %) were “at risk.” Of the 36 districts under insurgent control or influence, nine districts with a population of 524,072 are under insurgent control and 27 districts with a population of 1.98 million are under insurgent influence.

The above are extremely conservative estimates, with the actual figures far more indicative of the Taliban’s growing presence in the war-torn country. Bill Roggio, the editor of The Long War Journal -- an online publication that is tracking Taliban control -- says that although confirmed figures estimate that one-fifth of the country is controlled or contested by the Taliban, in reality the percentage is quite higher -- more to the tune of the Taliban controlling or contesting half the entire country.

“Contested” areas refer to those where the government controls the district centre but the Taliban control large swathes of surrounding territory -- such as the case of Lashkar Gah in the Helmand province. “Control” implies that the Taliban have open control of a district.

Although the group was beaten back in 2001, they were able to regroup and began capturing territory between 2005 and 2009, with 2013 being a key year. The Taliban capitalised on the rollback of American troops, and in 2014, the capture of Kunduz came as a huge boost to the militant group as it signified their biggest victory since the American invasion.

And while Taliban presence in the rural areas has been steadily increasing, it is the attacks on the capital city of Kabul that will heighten security fears and compromise, in people’s eyes, the ability of the US-backed Afghan government to offer protection. Tuesday’s attack follows a spate of attacks in Kabul, with 16 people killed when armed fighters stormed the American University of Afghanistan. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23.