Coordinated bombings on Ashura killed approximately 80 people across Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Kandahar, marking one of Afghanistan's deadliest sectarian attacks.
Key Facts
- Total deaths
- ~80
- Total injured
- over 160
- Kabul blast deaths
- more than 70
- Mazar-i-Sharif deaths
- at least 4
- Date
- December 6, 2011 (Ashura)
- Attack method
- Suicide bomber (Kabul); bicycle bomb (Mazar-i-Sharif)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The attacks occurred on Ashura, a holy day observed especially by Shi'a Muslims, suggesting deliberate targeting of Shi'a worshippers gathered at shrines and mosques. The coordinated nature of the strikes across multiple Afghan cities pointed to organized militant planning aimed at inflaming sectarian tensions.
On December 6, 2011, a suicide bomber struck the gate of a Shi'a shrine in Kabul at around noon, killing more than 70 civilians including women and children. Shortly afterward, a bicycle bomb exploded near a mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, killing at least 4. A third incident in Kandahar injured five people.
The attacks killed approximately 80 people in total and wounded over 160, making them among the deadliest strikes on Afghanistan's Shi'a community. The bombings heightened fears of sectarian violence in Afghanistan and drew international condemnation, intensifying concerns about stability during the ongoing conflict.