ISIS claims Kabul attack that kills dozens

Islamic State (ISIS) militants claimed responsibility for a Thursday attack on a Shiite cultural center in Kabul that left at least 41 people dead and 84 others injured. According to the ISIS-linked Aamaq news agency, three bombs exploded outside the two-story building while a suicide bomber detonated his device inside. People had gathered at the center to mark the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union. ISIS claimed the center has Iranian funding and propagates Shiite beliefs. The building also housed the pro-Iranian Afghan Voice news agency, and officials speculated that could have contributed to its selection as a target. The surrounding neighborhoods are some of Kabul’s poorest. Earlier this year, ISIS vowed to target Afghanistan’s Shiite population, and it has taken credit for at least two attacks that killed dozens of Shiite Muslims. ISIS militants are Sunni and consider Shiites apostates.