Afghan Religious Minorities children37 who had been killed and dumped in the Shahjoy district of Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan.38 Post-Taliban Era Following the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001, and until the recent emergence of the ISIS, ethnic Hazaras could breathe a sigh of relief. However, they were still occasionally persecuted by the remnants of the Taliban and never enjoyed the same status as the ruling ethnic group. Taliban militants were also responsible for increasing attacks, ambushes and kidnappings on the road from Kabul to Bamyan, which is the homeland of Hazaras.39 When ISIS was at its peak in Iraq and Syria, the militant group spread out to other countries, including Afghanistan, where the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (IS-KP) faction carried out several attacks on religious minorities, in particular the Shia Hazara community. Suicide bombings targeting public events and places of worship of Hazaras saw an increase. For instance, in 2016, a suicide bomber targeted a peaceful protest conducted by the Hazara community over a development project, killing 80.40 It was the deadliest attack on Hazara civilians since the Taliban collapse in 2001. In 2017 and later in 2018, bombings killed and injured close to 300 civilians.41 In August 2019, IS-KP claimed responsibility of a 37 Niamatullah Ibrahimi, The Hazaras and the Afghan State: Rebellion, Exclusion and the Struggle for Recognition (London: Hurst & Company, 2017), 204. 38 The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has also documented the occurrence. I have witnessed a part of their work when I was working with the organisation. 39 ‘“Dara-e Marg”, Chera Jalriz aman na me shawad?’ (‘The Death Road’ Why Jalriz is not secured?), Etilaatroz Daily, accessed November 11, 2019, https://www. etilaatroz.com/83966/death-valley-why-not-secure-jalrez. 40 The protest was over the re-routing of a power-line which would cut the Hazara community out of a multi-million dollars’ power transmission line project. It is anticipated that the targeting killed some of the most educated members of the community. ‘Afghanistan mourns protest blast victims,’ Aljazeera News, July 23, 2016, accessed November 11, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/ news/2016/07/deadly-blast-kills-10-kabul-protest-160723105351090.html. 41 Tamim Hamid, ‘Afghan Shias Targeted In Deadly Attacks in Recent Years: Report’, Tolo News, May 30, 2018, https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/afghanshias-targeted-deadly-attacks-recent-years-report; Fabrizio Foschini, ‘Hitting Gardez: A vicious attack on Paktia’s Shias’, Afghan Analyst Network, August 18, 2018, https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/hitting-gardez-a-vicious-attack-onpaktias-shias. 9