UN chief Antonio Guterres condemns gurudwara suicide attack in Afghanistan

UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the attack on a Gurudwara in Kabul that killed at least 25 people and injured many others, reiterating that attacks against civilians are unacceptable and those who carry out such crimes must be held accountable, his spokesman said. On Wednesday, at least 25 worshippers were killed and eight others injured when a heavily armed suicide bomber stormed his way into a prominent gurdwara in the heart of Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, in one of the deadliest attacks on the minority Sikh community in the strife-torn country.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group, which has targeted Sikhs before in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. “The Secretary-General condemns the attack...in Kabul on a Sikh-Hindu temple in which dozens of civilians were killed and injured. He expresses his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured,” Secretary General Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Wednesday.

It added that the Secretary-General reiterates that attacks against civilians are unacceptable and those who carry out such crimes must be held accountable. “The United Nations stands in solidarity with the people and the Government of Afghanistan and will continue supporting efforts to bring peace to their country,” the statement said.