A minority attack aims to undermine the opponents pawn structure and create weaknesses that may be taken advantage of.
It is not an attack as in going for the king but rather more of a positional thing (i think).
Eg in the Queens gambit.
this b4 push is to try to exchange at c6 to try to weaken the pawn at c6. or expoit any holes that may occur at c5
Whats the deal with a minority attack? With less material on a given side of the board, you would think the attack would fail.