The Iranian embassy in Kabul has issued a plea for the swift identification of those responsible for the recent attack on Shia scholars in Afghanistan’s Herat province.
The assault, which took place on Friday, Dec. 1, in the Kura-e-Milli area of PD13 in Herat City, targeted eight residents of Jibril, including two prominent Shia religious scholars: Mohammad Mohsen Hamedi, the imam of the Hazrat Abu al-Fazl mosque, and Mohammad Taqi Sadeqi, the imam of the Rasoul Aazam mosque.
Expressing dismay, the National Resistance Council described the chain of assassinations as horrifying and ruthless.
The families of the victims, who are yet to bury the bodies, met with the Taliban governor in Herat, demanding the identification of those responsible for the attack. They underscored the urgent need to prevent similar incidents targeting the Hazara and Shia communities.
Jilani Farhad, the spokesman for the former governor of Herat, commented on the situation, stating, “Targeting personalities is done to complete the construction of a ‘mono-ethnic’ government by the Taliban, and recently, some Shia figures in Herat have been targeted.”
However, the Taliban has distanced itself from the responsibility for the incident, attributing the attack to groups opposed to its government.
Hayatullah Muhajir, the Taliban’s deputy governor for Herat, stated, “Those who cannot bear the latest provided security are behind this attack, and their goal is to bring distrust among our people and sow religious discord among our people.”
Friday’s attack was the second incident in which Shia clerics were targeted in Herat in less than two weeks.
