Three foreign tourists and an Afghan national were killed in central Afghanistan’s Bamyan province on Friday, the Taliban interior ministry said.
Publication date: 2024/05/17 – 21:35
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Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qaani said the gunmen opened fire, wounding four foreigners and three Afghans as well. He said four people were arrested.
Taliban officials did not immediately reveal the nationality of the tourists or the identity of the attacker.
According to preliminary information provided by hospital officials, the three foreigners killed were Spaniards.
The injured were from Norway, Australia, Lithuania and Spain.
Diplomatic sources said they were seeking confirmation of the information, including the identities of the dead.
Sound of gunshots, streets closed by security forces
The mountainous city of Bamiyan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the ruins of two giant Buddha statues that were blown up by the Taliban during the last takeover in 2001.
Since taking over Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have vowed to restore security and encourage the small but growing influx of tourists into the country and the sale of tickets to access Buddhist statues.
Kani did not say whether there were multiple gunmen in Friday’s attack.
Qaani said in a statement that the Taliban government “strongly condemns this crime, expresses its deep feelings to the families of the victims, and ensures that all perpetrators are found and punished.”
I will explain in detail the events in Bamiyan province.
Unfortunately, tonight there was a shooting against the general public in the city of Bamyan, in which three foreigners, including one Afghan, were killed and four foreigners, including three Afghans, were injured.
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— Mufti Abdul Mateen Qani – مفتي عبدالمتين قانع (@abdulmateenqani) May 17, 2024
“Continuous gunshots were heard and the city streets leading to the scene were immediately sealed off by security forces,” a local resident said on condition of anonymity.
“Get out of town”
Deadly attacks on foreign nationals have become rare in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
The number of tourists visiting the country has increased in recent years as security has improved since the Taliban ended their insurgency by overthrowing the U.S.-backed government.
A foreign tourist who arrived in western Herat province on Friday evening posted on a WhatsApp group for Afghan tourists that he and other tourists had been stopped by Taliban authorities and told that “we are no longer safe because of Bamiyan.” he posted.
“After a while and Google translated, we convinced them to let us go. They told us to eat quickly and get off the street,” the tourist said.
The Bamiyan region has a large population of members of the Hazara Shia community.
Historically persecuted religious minorities have been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, which views them as heretics.
The number of bombings and suicide bombings in Afghanistan has decreased dramatically since Taliban authorities took power.
However, many armed groups, including IS, remain a threat.
(France 24 News Agency, AFP News Agency, Reuters News Agency)
