Ghani denounces killing of Shia Muslims in Afghanistan
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has strongly denounced the recent beheading of a group of Shia Muslims by militants in the country’s troubled south.
Ghani said in a statement on Monday evening that he was "profoundly saddened" by the killing of seven Shia Muslims belonging to the Hazara community in the southern province of Zabul.
"The heartless killing of innocent individuals, especially women and children, has no justification in any religion or creed," the statement said.
The president vowed to bring the culprits behind the carnage to justice. Ghani also promised to convene "an extraordinary security meeting to seek ways for tracking down and punishing the perpetrators of this atrocious crime."
Meanwhile, the United States through its embassy in Kabul has also issued a statement condemning "yesterday's beheading of seven civilians, including women and a child."
The condemnations came a day after local Afghan officials said that the headless bodies of seven people, including, two women and one child, who were kidnapped by militants in October from Ghazni Province, were found in the Khak-i-Afghan district of volatile Zabul Province on Sunday.
Local Afghan officials say militants from the Takfiri Daesh terrorists are behind the latest slaughter of Shia Muslims. Daesh militants have been increasing the terror activities across Afghanistan over the past months.
This is the latest deadly incident in a wave of violence against the Shia Muslim community in the country. Hazara Shia Muslims have often been targeted by militant groups in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.
The Hazara Shia Muslim community makes up about 22 percent of Afghanistan's population.
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