The spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior of Afghanistan confirmed this Friday the death of three tourists in a shooting in the city of Bamiyan. Hospital sources have added that they are Spanish. Apparently there is a fourth Spaniard injured by the shots.
Four suspects have been arrested. There is also a fourth deceased, an Afghan man has died and three others were injured in the attack. A Norwegian, an Australian and a Lithuanian.
The Taliban government “strongly condemns this crime, expresses its deep feelings to the families of the victims and assures that all criminals will be found and punished,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Overwhelmed by the news of the murder of Spanish tourists in Afghanistan.
I follow the situation punctually. The Consular Emergency Unit of the @MAECgob is working to offer all necessary assistance.
I want to convey all my affection to his family and friends.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) May 17, 2024
A local resident, who did not want to give his name, said he heard “the sound of successive gunshots and the city streets leading to the scene were immediately blocked by security forces.”
Bamiyan, home to two monumental Buddha statues destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban, is Afghanistan’s main tourist destination. Tourism in Afghanistan has increased in recent years as security has improved since the Taliban ended their insurgency after overthrowing the US-backed government.
A foreign tourist who arrived in the western province of Herat on Friday night posted in a WhatsApp group for travelers in Afghanistan that Taliban authorities stopped him and others and told them “that because of Bamiyan, they no longer [estaban ]insurance.”
In the end “we convinced them to let us leave, they told us to go eat quickly and that we wouldn’t stay on the street,” he said.
#Spanish #tourists #die #shooting #Afghanistan #Basque #Journal