Worshippers marking Ashura shot dead in Kabul

Shia pilgrims were targeted in the Afghan capital Kabul with at least 25 people killed, in two separate attacks, as they gathered to mark Ashura, one of the most important days on the Shia-Muslim calendar.

Shia pilgrims were targeted in the Afghan capital Kabul with at least 25 people killed, in two separate attacks, as they gathered to mark Ashura, one of the most important days on the Shia-Muslim calendar.

One attacker was killed after attempting to enter the shrine with a vest loaded with explosives, interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

A senior police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suicide attacker – dressed in a police uniform – entered the KarteSakhi shrine near Kabul University in the west of the city.

A witness said the assailant shot dead a policeman guarding the entrance with a pistol before taking his AK-47 assault rifle and “firing randomly at worshippers”.