2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings
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The 2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings were a pair of bombings in the
Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
capital of Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. The Kabul
suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
took place at around noon local time, on the day when
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s commemorate
Ashura Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks the ...
, an annual holy day throughout the Muslim world particularly by the
Shi'a Muslims Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...
. The first attack took place at the gate of a
Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
shrine in Kabul and was caused by a suicide bomber. The second incident took place in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where a bomb was affixed to a
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...
that exploded near a mosque shortly after the Kabul blast. The suicide blast in Kabul resulted in the deaths of more than 70 civilians, which included women and children, while the Mazar-i-Sharif blast claimed at least 4 lives. The third was in the southern city of Kandahar, where five people received injuries. The total number of dead in all the attacks reached about 80, while over 160 more were injured.


Attacks


Kabul

A
suicide bomb A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
er attacked the
Abul Fazl Mosque Abul Fazl Shrine (Pashto/ prs, زیارت ابوالفضل‎) is a shrine and mosque, located in Murad Khane, Kabul, Afghanistan. The facility was hit with a massive blast on 21 February 2023. See also * 2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings * Lis ...
in the
Murad Khane Murad Khane ( prs, مراد خانی) is a district of the old city in Kabul, Afghanistan. It lies just north of the Kabul River and is part of the city District 2. History Murad Khane was named after two Murad Khans: one the brother of a 17th-ce ...
neighborhood of Kabul on 6 December 2011, which claimed more than 50 lives. Reports suggested that the suicide bomber was carrying a backpack and may have been full of explosives. The blast took place at around 12 noon (07 30 GMT) at the gate of the Abu Fazl shrine, which is a place mostly visited by Shias. Hundreds of Afghans had gathered to commemorate
Ashura Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks the ...
, the day on which
Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
the grandson of Muhammad along with 72 followers were murdered in
Kerbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
, Iraq. According to the statement released by
Interior Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
, a man wearing suicide vest blew himself up inside the shrine where Shi'ite mourners were observing the martyrdom of Hussayn.


Mazar-i-Sharif

The second bomb took place near the Blue Mosque in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, where four people were killed. The bomb was reportedly hidden on a
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...
, and went off shortly after the Kabul blast.


Victims

More than 70 people were killed following the explosion at the Abu Fazl Mosque in Kabul, while 4 people were killed in Mazar-i-Sharif, taking the total death toll to at least 74. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul confirmed that one of the dead was a United States citizen. A number of local and international photojournalists were present when the Kabul bomb went off. Images began appearing in which children were seen screaming or lay dead.


Responsibility

Ali Sher-e-Khuda, a man claiming to belong to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, told '' BBC News'' that his group was behind the attacks. According to Mark Toner, spokesman for
U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
, "It's been responsible for many attacks within Pakistan. So it's clearly a threat to both countries, and it's precisely the kind of organisation that the secretary (of state) was trying to address when she went to Pakistan in calling for Pakistan to do more to combat this kind of extremist terrorist activity within its own borders."US backs Karzai; UNSC slams attack
/ref> In June 2012, two men from Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan named Rahim Gul and Habibullah confessed to transporting the suicide bomber from Peshawar, Pakistan. The Attorney General of Afghanistan,
Mohammad Ishaq Aloko Mohammad Ishaq Aloko ps, محمد اسحاق الکو; born 1935) is the Attorney General of Afghanistan since August 2008. He was appointed by President Hamid Karzai after Abdul Jabar Sabit was forced to resign from the post. An ethnic Pashtun ...
, stated that "The attack was planned and organized in Peshawar and executed on the holy day." He said "the bombing was an attempt to create division between Afghan Sunni and Shiite Muslims", and alleged that "the Pakistani intelligence service was involved in the attack." Initially, Afghan Interior Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi had accused the Taliban of organising the suicide attack inside a shrine in Kabul but Taliban spokesman
Zabiullah Mujahid Zabihullah Mujahid ( ps, ; ''Ẕabīḥullāh Mujāhid'' ; also spelled Dhabih Allah Mujahid) is an Afghan official Central spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 25 October 2021 and Deputy Ministry of Information and Culture si ...
denied involvement.
Afghanistan President The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces. On 15 August 2021, as ...
Hamid Karzai said he would discuss the matter with Pakistan.


Reactions

Hundreds of people had joined funeral processions held the next day. The attack was also condemned by leaders of different ethnic groups said that it was aimed at creating a sectarian war in the country but that they would not turn to violence and instead would stand united in condemning the attack. The United Nation Security Council also condemned the attack.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashura bombings 2011 murders in Afghanistan 2011 in Kabul December 2011 events in Afghanistan Improvised explosive device bombings in Afghanistan Lashkar-e-Jhangvi attacks Mass murder in 2011 Mass murder in Afghanistan Mazar-i-Sharif Suicide bombings in Afghanistan Taliban attacks Terrorist incidents in Afghanistan in 2011