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Horrific suicide bombing targets minority group in Afghanistan

Afghans use a banner in the colors of the Afghan flag to cover victim’s blood, after a deadly explosion struck a protest march by ethnic Hazaras CREDIT: AP PHOTOS/MASSOUD HOSSAINI
Afghans use a banner in the colors of the Afghan flag to cover victim’s blood, after a deadly explosion struck a protest march by ethnic Hazaras CREDIT: AP PHOTOS/MASSOUD HOSSAINI

More than 80 people are dead and hundreds are injured in the aftermath of the worst suicide bombing in Kabul in 15 years, which specifically targeted an ethnic minority group.

The bombs detonated in the middle of a peaceful protest that consisted predominantly of Hazaras, a Shia minority group in Afghanistan that has a long history of being discriminated against in the country. Hazaras make up about 9 percent of Afghanistan’s population.

Thousands of protesters had gathered on Saturday to demonstrate against plans to reroute a new power line away from a predominantly Hazara province, saying that decision would deprive their community of investment. The power line has been a point of contention for months.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack in the Afghan capital, calling it a planned attack on a “gathering of Shi’ites,” though it can be difficult to independently verify ISIS’ level of involvement. If the bombing was carried out by ISIS, it could “signal its first deliberate effort to target Afghanistan’s Shiite minority, which it views as infidel,” according to the Washington Post’s reporting.

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Waheed Majroeh, the head of international relations for the Ministry of Public Health, said the death toll is likely to rise “as the condition of many of the injured is very serious.” After initial reports of the carnage, social media calls went out urging people to donate blood.

Hazaras have long been persecuted in the region. They were displaced, enslaved, and killed in the 19th century and didn’t gain equal rights under the Afghanistan Constitution until 2004. More recently, they became targets of the mostly Sunni Taliban, which declared war on the Hazara after the civil war in Aghanistan in the 1990s. Even though the country is no longer under Taliban rule, Hazaras say the Afghan government is not protecting their interests or taking violence against them seriously. Hazaras continue to be targeted by kidnappings and beheadings.

In a statement, the human rights group Amnesty International said that the “horrific attack” serves as a reminder that the conflict in Afghanistan is escalating, “with consequences for the human rights situation in the country that should alarm us all.”

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Many of the Aghan refugees who seek asylum in Western European countries are Hazaras. They say they cannot safely return home because of the levels of persecution they face.