Kabul attack: For regional peace, support to terrorists must end, says PM Modi

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Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condemned the terror attack in Kabul and said that for regional peace, all support to such terrorists must end.

The PM tweeted: "We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack today on a Shia shrine in Kabul and condole loss of innocent lives. India stands with Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism."

"For regional peace and security, all sanctuaries, safe havens and support to such terrorists must end," he said.

We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack today on a Shia shrine in Kabul & condole loss of innocent lives.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2016

India stands with Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2016

For regional peace and security, all sanctuaries, safe havens and support to such terrorists must end.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2016

A suicide bomber struck a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital today, killing at least 27 people, the UN office said, the second large-scale attack targeting minority Shiites in Kabul in just over a month. 

Officials said the attacker entered the Baqir-ul-Olum mosque shortly after midday as worshippers gathered for Arbaeen, a Shi`ite ritual marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the 7th-century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.

Meanwhile, Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide attack.

A statement in Arabic from Islamic State`s Amaq news agency said one of its fighters had attacked the mosque, as per Reuters.

Bloody sectarian rivalry between Sunni and Shi`ite Muslims has been relatively rare in Afghanistan, a majority Sunni country, but the attack underlines the deadly new dimension that growing ethnic tension could bring to its decades-long conflict.

Islamic State, based mainly in the eastern state of Nangarhar on the border with Pakistan, has gradually expanded its reach since emerging in Afghanistan last year.

Prior to Monday, it had claimed responsibility for two major attacks on Shi`ite targets in Kabul, including a suicide bombing which killed more than 80 people at a demonstration by the mainly Shi`ite Hazara community, the worst single attack on civilians since 2001.

Last month, it claimed an attack in which 18 people were killed when a gunman in police uniform opened fire on worshippers gathered at a shrine in Kabul for Ashura, one of the holiest occasions in the Shi`ite calendar.

(With Agency inputs)