2024 Guzara attack

The 2024 Guzara Attack was a terrorist attack against Shia Muslims in Guzara, Herat Province, Afghanistan on April 29, 2024, by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province.^[2]

2024 Guzara attack
Part of the Afghan conflict and terrorism in Afghanistan
Location	Imam Zaman Mosque, Guzara, Herat Province, Afghanistan
Date	April 29, 2024 (2024-04-29) 21:00
Target	Shia Muslims[1]
Attack type	Mass shooting
Weapon	AK-47
Deaths	6
Injured	1
Perpetrator	Islamic State – Khorasan Province
Motive	Anti-Shi'ism

Background

The Islamic State as a whole has made its ideology of Islamic Statism to Sunni supremacy and Takfirism against Shia Muslims with attacks like the Camp Speicher massacre,^[3] unlike the group it split from, Al-Qaeda, which attempts to maintain positive Shia–Sunni relations.^[4]

Attack

On the night of April 29, 2024 at 9 PM, an attacker stormed into the Imam Zaman mosque and opened fired on worshippers inside.^[5][6] The attacker sprayed bullets randomly at worshippers, killing six, including a 3-year-old child and the Imam who was leading the prayers, and injuring one.^[7][8] The attacker used an AK-47 to shoot at the worshippers before he fled the scene.^[9]

Aftermath

Though no one immediately took responsibility for the attack,^[10] a day later the Islamic State – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility through their telegram channel.^[11] Many organizations and people condemning the attack including the former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, said on a post on X: "I strongly condemn the attack on the Imam Zaman Mosque, I consider this terrorist act against all religious and human standards.",^[12] the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan,^[13] the Iranian embassy in Kabul,^[14] and the Taliban with them denouncing and accusing the Islamic State even before they claimed responsibility for the attack.^[15]