Washington: The US has strongly condemned the terror attack on a prominent gurdwara in the heart of Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying the people of the strife-torn country deserve a future free from the ISIS and other terrorist activity.
At least 25 worshippers were killed and eight others injured when a heavily armed suicide bomber stormed his way into the gurdwara on Wednesday in one of the deadliest attacks on the minority Sikh community in the country.
The Islamic State (IS) terror group, which has targeted Sikhs before in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack on the gurdwara as 150 worshippers were inside the building.
"The United States condemns the horrific ISIS-K claimed attack on a Sikh temple and community centre in Kabul this morning which took the lives of more than two dozen innocent people," Pompeo told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday.
The people of Afghanistan deserve a future free from the ISIS-K and other terrorist activity, he said.
"Despite the country's political challenges, the ongoing Afghan peace process remains the primary opportunity for Afghans to come together to negotiate a political settlement and build a unified front against the menace of ISIS-K," Pompeo said.
Acting Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Alice G Wells, tweeted, "The US condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific ISIS-claimed attack on a Sikh temple and community centre in Kabul today."
"We mourn the deceased and will hold the wounded, their families, and their community close to our hearts," she said.
In an open letter to President Donald Trump, Indian-American attorney Ravi Batra called for elimination of the ISIS by use of "nano nukes".
"The punishment I fear has to be unique. The whole world is in a 'no war' mode, because we are in a 'Covid war' mode to save humanity. Sharing our scientific and medical knowledge, as if it was open source. Our time is too precious to deviate. Millions of lives hang in the balance," he said.
Batra and his family have been tested positive for coronavirus and are in quarantine.
He proposed, "The unique punishment is to identify all ISIS centres, mark them for immediate destruction, and if there be a main one, for that mother load of evil, we go back to WWII decision-making, and for even better reasons now, roll out our 'nano nuke' and eviscerate this evil."
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