US condemns terrorist attack on Sikhs in Afghanistan

The US has strongly condemned the terror attack on a prominent gurdwara in the heart of Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying the people of the strife-torn country deserve a future free from the ISIS and other terrorist activity.

At least 25 worshippers were killed and eight others injured when a heavily armed suicide bomber stormed his way into the gurdwara on Wednesday in one of the deadliest attacks on the minority Sikh community in the country.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group, which has targeted Sikhs before in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack on the gurdwara as 150 worshippers were inside the building.

"The United States condemns the horrific ISIS-K claimed attack on a Sikh temple and community centre in Kabul this morning which took the lives of more than two dozen innocent people," Pompeo told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday.

The people of Afghanistan deserve a future free from the ISIS-K and other terrorist activity, he said.

"Despite the country's political challenges, the ongoing Afghan peace process remains the primary opportunity for Afghans to come together to negotiate a political settlement and build a unified front against the menace of ISIS-K," Pompeo said.

Acting Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Alice G Wells, tweeted, "The US condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific ISIS-claimed attack on a Sikh temple and community centre in Kabul today."