Afghan security personnel stand guard near the site of an attack to a Sikh temple in Kabul on March 25, 2020. (STR / AFP)
KABUL – An attack on a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital of Kabul killed at least two people and injured seven on Saturday, following a blast in a car loaded with explosives, officials said, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Grey smoke billowed over the area in images aired by domestic broadcaster Tolo. A Taliban interior spokesman said attackers had laden a car with explosives but it had detonated before reaching its target.
Taliban authorities were securing the site, he added.
A spokesman for Kabul's commander said his forces had taken control of the area and cleared it of attackers. One Sikh worshipper had been killed in the attack and one Taliban fighter killed during the clearing operation, he added
"There were around 30 people inside the temple," said a temple official, Gornam Singh. "We don't know how many of them are alive or how many dead."
Temple authorities did not know what to do, as the Taliban were not allowing them inside, Singh told Reuters.
A spokesman for Kabul's commander said his forces had taken control of the area and cleared it of attackers. One Sikh worshipper had been killed in the attack and one Taliban fighter killed during the clearing operation, he added.
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers say they have secured the country since taking power in August, but international officials and analysts say the risk of a resurgence in militancy remains. Multiple attacks have taken place in recent months, with some claimed by the Islamic State militant group.
ALSO READ: Blast kills more than 50 at Kabul mosque, its leader says
Sikhs are a tiny religious minority in largely Muslim Afghanistan, comprising around 300 family members before the fall of the country to the Taliban. Many had left the country in the wake of the takeover, according to community members and media reports.
The Sikh community, like other religious minorities, has been the continual target of violence in Afghanistan. An attack claimed by the Islamic State at another temple in Kabul in 2020 killed 25.
READ MORE: Suicide bomber killed at Kabul passport office gate
India's foreign ministry was "deeply concerned" about reports of the attack. "We are closely monitoring the situation and waiting for further details on the unfolding developments," foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.
Saturday's explosion follows a blast on Friday in the northern city of Kunduz at a mosque that killed one and injured two, according to authorities.