Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has recorded 17 targeted and suicide attacks on worshippers, imams of mosques and worshippers over the last nine months in which 170 people have lost their lives.

Four children are also among those killed in the attacks, according to the commission. The report of the watchdog shows that 272 others were wounded in these attacks that the organization blames Taliban, Daesh and unknown armed men for them.

The report covers data from Oct. 17, 2019 to July 13, 2020.

The report mentions attacks on two mosques in Kabul, on Sikhs temple in Kabul and Jalalabad and attacks on religious scholars in Takhar, Parwan, Laghman, Paktia and Helmand provinces. 

“Based on international rights, any attack on civilians is war crime,” said Zabihullah Farhang, head of media office of the commission.

The report says that last month, Taliban tortured and killed Shaikh Hussain, the imam of a mosque in Kohna Masjid village in Dahana-e-Ghori district of Baghlan province on charges of performing funeral of a local police commander.

“If the Taliban want, no terrorist group will be able to operate in Afghanistan,” said Abdul Sattar Hussaini, an MP.

Taliban has not commented on the report so far.

The commission has called on the Afghan government to protect religious places in the country and hold perpetrators of such incidents accountable.