Gunmen kill 14 in a Shiite area of Afghanistan in one of the deadliest attacks this year

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban say gunmen have killed 14 people in a Shiite-majority area in central Afghanistan, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country this year. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the assault, which took place Thursday and targeted people as they traveled between the Shiite-majority provinces of Ghor and Daikundi. The Taliban’s chief spokesman Friday strongly condemned the “barbaric action” and said authorities considered it their obligation to protect people and their property. The Iranian news agency IRNA quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying the group had targeted people welcoming Afghan Shiites who were returning from visiting shrines in Iraq.