AFP reports around 2,000 Shia Muslims in western Afghanistan staged a protest Tuesday against growing sectarian attacks by Islamic State (IS) militant group, as the government warned that the group had expanded its foothold into 11 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

Chanting “Death to the enemies of Afghanistan!” and “Death to Daesh!”, the Arabic acronym for IS, the protesters marched to the governor's office in the city of Herat on January 3 carrying photos of Shi'ite friends and relatives killed in recent attacks.

Herat, which borders predominantly Shi'ite Iran, recently witnessed a surge in attacks on Shi'ite mosques.

A Muslim prayer leader was killed and five others were wounded in an attack on January 1.

“Daesh attacks on our mosques are increasing every day. They want to create a rift between Shias and Sunnis,” Qurban Ali, a 40-year-old demonstrator, told AFP.  “This is a dangerous trend and we want the

"This is a dangerous trend and we want the government to protect us."

The city’s security forces are doing their best to capture the perpetrators of the recent attacks and to protect local residents from further incidents, Herat Governor Mohammad Asif Rahimi said, according to Afghanistan’s Pajhwok Afghan News.

Last year Afghanistan witnessed a wave of attacks on Shias claimed by IS, which considers Shia Muslims apostates. At least 14 Shias were killed in October in a powerful blast at a mosque in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, hours after gunmen targeted Shia worshippers in a shrine in Kabul and killed 18 people.

In July the IS militants targeted members of Kabul’s Shia community in a suicide bombing that killed more than 80 people and wounded 130.