The 2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings were a pair of bombings in the Afghan capital of Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. The Kabul suicide bombing took place at around noon local time, on the day when Muslims commemorate Ashura, an annual holy day throughout the Muslim world particularly by the Shi'a Muslims.
The 2015 Kabul Parliament attack occurred on June 22, 2015, when members of the Taliban detonated a car bomb outside the National Assembly in Kabul then attacked the building with assault rifles and RPGs. Two civilians and seven Taliban died in the attack.
Shia Muslims have been persecuted by the Islamic State (IS), an Islamist terrorist group, since 2014. Persecutions have taken place in Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the world.
Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, also spelled Haibatullah Akhunzada, is an Afghan cleric who is the supreme leader of Afghanistan in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime. He has led the Taliban since 2016, and came to power with its victory over U.S.-backed forces in the 2001–2021 war. A highly reclusive figure, he has almost no digital footprint except for an unverified photograph and several audio recordings of speeches.
Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.
The Islamic State–Taliban conflict is an ongoing insurgency by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The conflict initially began when both operated as rival insurgent groups in Nangarhar; since the formation of the Taliban's state in 2021, IS-KP members have enacted a campaign of terrorism targeting both civilians and assassinating Taliban members using hit-and-run tactics. The group have also caused incidents and attacks across the border in Pakistan.
On 1 July 2019, a combined gun and bomb attack took place in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan. The attackers initially detonated a bomb-laden truck, after which five gunmen entered a nearby building under construction and fired on Afghan security personnel evacuating people onto the street. At least forty-five were killed, including the five attackers. The spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, Wahidullah Mayar, said that 116 civilians, including 26 children and 5 women, were wounded. The Taliban claimed the responsibility for the bomb attack in Kabul and said although civilians were not the Taliban target, some were injured.
Events in the year 2020 in Afghanistan.
In May 2020, a series of insurgent attacks took place in Afghanistan, starting when the Taliban killed 20 Afghan soldiers and wounded 29 others in Zari, Balkh and Grishk, Helmand on 1 and 3 May, respectively. On 12 May, a hospital's maternity ward in Kabul and a funeral in Kuz Kunar (Khewa), Nangarhar were attacked, resulting in the deaths of 56 people and injuries of 148 others, including newborn babies, mothers, nurses, and mourners. ISIL–KP claimed responsibility for the funeral bombing, but no insurgent group claimed responsibility for the hospital shooting.
On 20 October 2017, suicide bombers attacked mosques in Kabul and Ghor Province, Afghanistan, killing at least 60 people.
On 8 October 2021, an ISIS-K suicide bombing occurred at the Shia Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz. Over 50 people were killed, and another 100 injured, but according to an estimate by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, more than 100 people were killed and wounded.
On 29 April 2022, a bombing at a Sunni mosque in western Kabul, Afghanistan during the early afternoon killed at least 10 people.
On 21 April 2022, a powerful bomb rocked the Shia Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 87 others. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility via Telegram.
On 22 April 2022, the Sufi Mawlawi Sekandar Mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan was bombed, leaving 33 people dead and 43 others injured.
On 25 May 2022, at least 5 people were killed when the Hazrat Zakaria Mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, was bombed. At least 17 others were injured. An improvised explosive device hidden inside the mosque detonated during the Maghrib prayers.
On 17 August 2022, the Abu Bakr al Sadiq Mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan was bombed. Many were reported killed in the explosion. Residents nearby also heard gunshots after the explosion occurred. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, although it was almost surely perpetrated by ISIS–K, which had stepped up attacks targeting the Taliban and Afghan civilians following the former insurgents’ takeover of the country in August 2021, as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their withdrawal. The previous week, ISIS–K had claimed responsibility for killing a prominent Taliban cleric at his religious center in Kabul.
On 23 September 2022, a car bomb exploded outside a mosque in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood of Kabul, Afghanistan. The explosion happened as worshippers were leaving the building after offering Friday prayers. Police said that seven people had been killed and 41 injured, including several children.
