At least four in tourist group killed in Afghanistan attack

Incident took place in Bamyan province near tourist site

Bamyan province, where the attack took place, was home to two giant Buddhist until the Taliban destroyed them in 2001. EPA-EFE

Gunmen killed at least four people, including three foreign citizens, in Bamyan province in central Afghanistan on Friday, the Taliban-run government said.

A Taliban spokesman said that seven people had been injured in the attack, including four foreign citizens.

Four people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though ISIS-Khorasan Province has been increasingly active in the country. ISIS-K was linked to a shooting in Moscow earlier this year that killed 143.

The US State Department said that it was “aware of media reports” that Americans may have been among those in the tourist group.

“We continue to urge US citizens not to travel to Afghanistan,” a State Department representative told The National.

It added that “travel to all areas of Afghanistan is unsafe and the risk of kidnapping or violence against US citizens in Afghanistan is high”.

The province where the attack took place was home to two giant Buddhist until the Taliban destroyed them in 2001.

The Taliban are now hoping to once again make the area a tourist destination.

Friday's attack was among the most serious against foreign citizens since coalition forces left and the Taliban took over in 2021.

ISIS claimed an attack that injured Chinese citizens at a hotel in Kabul in 2022.