About 2,000 demonstrators, holding pictures of Shia Muslims killed in recent terrorist attacks, marched on the governor’s office in the city of Herat on Tuesday.
Around 2,000 people in the city of Herat marched to the governor’s office on Tuesday to protest against the increasing attacks on Shia Muslims by ISIS.
The protesters chanted slogans such as “Death to the enemies of Afghanistan!” and “Death to Daesh (ISIS)!”
Herat recently witnessed a surge in attacks on mosques belonging to Shia Muslims with a prayer leader was killed and five others wounded in one such attack on Sunday, PressTV reported.
Qurban Ali, a 40-year-old demonstrator, spoke with PressTV and said ISIS terrorists were desperately attempting to fuel sectarian strife by mounting attacks on Shia religious sites.
“Daesh attacks on our mosques are increasing every day. They want to create a rift between Shias and Sunnis,” Ali said, adding, “This is a dangerous trend and we want the government to protect us.”
Jawad, another protester who was identified by one name, said, “We will not allow Daesh to make Afghanistan another Syria. The government must come up with a plan to protect Shias.”
Najeebullah Mani, the head of counter-terrorism at the Afghan Interior Ministry, told reporters in Herat this week that the group was steadily expanding into other provinces away from their stronghold on the border with Pakistan.
“Our initial information shows Daesh is behind the recent attacks in Herat. They are expanding and are always looking for new geographical areas,” Mani said, adding, “They are present in at least 11 (of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces). Their main goal is to create sectarian divisions between Shias and Sunnis.”
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