Explosions and gunfire at Sikh temple in Afghan capital

Gunmen stormed a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital on Saturday, throwing at least one grenade and wounding two people, the Interior Ministry and witnesses said.

While the number of bomb attacks has decreased across the country since the Taliban seized power in August, several fatal attacks have rocked the country in recent months.

“I heard gunshots and explosions coming from the gurdwara,” Sikh community leader Gurnam Singh told AFP.

Home Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the grenade blast injured two members of the Sikh community.

Minutes later a car bomb detonated in the area but caused no casualties, he added.

Singh, who was near the scene, said the death toll could rise.

“Usually at that time in the morning we have several Sikh devotees who come to offer prayers at the gurdwara,” he said.

The number of Sikhs living in Afghanistan has dropped to about 200 compared to half a million in the 1970s.

A series of attacks hit the country during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended in Afghanistan on April 30, some of them claimed by the Islamic State.

The deadliest was in the northern city of Kunduz, where a bomb aimed at Sufi worshipers ripped through a mosque and killed at least 36 people.

IS is a Sunni Islamist group, like the Taliban, but the two are bitter rivals.

The Taliban have sought an Afghanistan free of foreign forces, while IS wants an Islamic caliphate stretching from Turkey to Pakistan and beyond.

Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated IS, but analysts say the jihadist group remains a key security challenge.