RASC News Agency: The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has disclosed a disturbing rise in violence, reporting that ISIS attacks from July through September this year have led to the deaths of 28 Afghanistani civilians and injuries to more than 50 others. UNAMA’s latest report, released on Thursday, October 31, underscores the calculated nature of these attacks, with ISIS-Khorasan claiming responsibility and admitting to specifically targeting Shia communities.
The report provides detailed accounts of recent attacks, including an August bombing of a passenger bus in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi district, resulting in one fatality and injuries to 13 others, primarily Hazara individuals. Another incident in August involved a landmine detonated under a Taliban military vehicle in Nangarhar, killing six young boys and wounding four others. In September, an ISIS assault targeted former employees of Afghanistan’s Attorney General’s office, claiming at least seven civilian lives and injuring more than 29 others. Additionally, ISIS acknowledged responsibility for a recent shooting along the Daikundi-Ghor border, where 14 Shia civilians were killed, and four others wounded.
Although the report does not mention Taliban casualties, the Taliban continue to dismiss claims of ISIS presence and influence within Afghanistan, despite growing indications of their expanding reach and sustained activity. Approximately seven months earlier, UNAMA reported that at least 36 civilians had been killed and 118 wounded in ISIS attacks during the first quarter of the year.
