'Find the perpetrators': Punjab CM Amarinder to Afghan Prez after Gurudwara terror attack

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday called the terror attack in a Gurudwara in Kabul "extremely tragic and unfortunate", after at least four people were killed by terrorists. He requested Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani to find out about the perpetrators and look after the people of India. 

'It's extremely tragic and unfortunate'

Armed men stormed a Gurdwara Guru Har Har Rai in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul on Wednesday and were locked in an ongoing battle with the security forces, Afghan media reported. According to Associated Press, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said police responded promptly to Wednesday's attack and were at the site, where shooting is still underway.

Gunfight underway with 150 worshippers trapped inside

The lawmaker, Narindra Singh Khalsa, said he received a call from a worshipper inside the gurdwara telling him of the attack and rushed over to help. There were about 150 worshippers inside at the time of the attack, he said, adding that at least four people have been killed.

The police are trying to dislodge the attackers, Khalsa said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed tweeted that the Taliban were not involved. Earlier this month, Afghanistan's Islamic State affiliate struck a gathering of minority Shiite Muslims in Kabul, killing 32 people.

READ | US envoy says Kabul, Taliban in first prisoner exchange talks

Sikhs have suffered widespread discrimination in the conservative Muslim country and have also been targeted by Islamic extremists. Under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, they were asked to identify themselves by wearing yellow armbands, but the rule was not enforced. In recent years, large numbers of Sikhs and Hindus have sought asylum in India.

READ | Afghanistan: 4 people killed after gunmen storm gurdwara in Kabul

In July 2018, a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus was attacked by an Islamic State suicide bomber as they were on their way to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in the eastern city of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province. Nineteen people were killed in that attack.

READ | Pompeo leaves Kabul, no word on political power-sharing deal

READ | Pompeo rushes to Kabul to jumpstart flagging peace process

(With AP inputs)