The Taliban’s police command in Baghlan Province reported that 10 people were killed in an armed attack on a shrine in the Nahrin district late Thursday night.
In a statement, the Taliban described the incident as “mysterious,” adding that the attack took place at a khanqah, or Sufi lodge, within the shrine.
Abdul Ghayoor Khadem, the Taliban’s head of security for Baghlan, said several individuals have been detained in connection with the incident.
According to local sources, the attack occurred while worshipers were engaged in zikr, a Sufi devotional practice.
Earlier, sources said that at least 12 people were killed in the attack.
The victims were followers of the Sufi order, who had gathered for a traditional Thursday night zikr, or devotional prayer session, when the assault occurred.
“On Thursday nights, these people would gather under the pretext of the Sufi order. An armed individual came and martyred them all,” said a local resident of Nahrin.
Another resident recounted the chaos of the incident, saying, “They killed those poor people. When we were young, we used to join them—one would play the drum, and others would gather.”
According to witnesses, one of the victims, identified as Aziz, was killed while trying to leave the room. Stains of his blood remained at the scene.
No responsibility claimed
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Taliban have not commented on the incident.
However, Islamic State Khorasan, or Daesh, has a history of targeting Sufi shrines and practices in Afghanistan. The group has carried out similar attacks in recent years, including assaults on Sufi gatherings in Kabul, as well as in the provinces of Balkh and Kunduz.
Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam focused on personal spiritual practices, has long been under threat in Afghanistan, particularly from extremist groups like Daesh that view its practices as heretical.
