Sikh families demand investigation into Afghan temple attack

Bodies of victims killed in the Sikh temple attack are burned during a ceremony Thursday in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo by Jawad Jalali/EPA-EFE

March 27 (UPI) -- The families of multiple Sikh worshipers killed this week in an attack at a temple in Afghanistan's capital are demanding a government investigation.

Authorities say militants attacked the temple Wednesday and killed 25 people before police ended the siege. Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said eight were injured.

"The Sikh community of Afghanistan are among the most resilient, peaceful and country-loving citizens," Afghan activist Samira Hamidi said. "There are so many of them who have preferred living in Afghanistan despite all the threats against them."

The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack but some Afghan government officials believe the Haqqani Network may have been involved in retaliation for violence against Muslims in India recently, tied to its controversial law that establishes citizenship for non-Muslim refugees..

"The Taliban and other terrorist groups sponsored by the governments in our region have in the past also attacked our society and tried create divisions among people," Javid Faisal, spokesman for the Afghan National Security Council, said. "Such past events instill fear and insecurity within the community and can affect the unity of the nation, too."

Wednesday's attack led to calls for solidarity within Afghanistan's Sikh community, whose numbers have dwindled drastically over nearly two decades of war.

"[The Organization of Islamic Cooperation] strongly condemned suicide attacks on a Sikh place of worship in Kabul," Huseyin Avni Botsali, an ambassador of the OIC in Kabul, said.

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The families of some of the victims want the government to do more.

"We want investigations," relative Dip Singh said. "Our 25 people have been killed."

Some say the attackers took their violent crusade too far by attacking a place of worship.

"In which book do you come to attack a mosque and attack a [temple]?" asked relative Andar Singh. "In what religion does that happen?"

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