Gunmen kill three Spanish tourists in Afghanistan's central Bamyan
province
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[May 18, 2024]
By Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte Greenfield and Ana Cantero
KABUL/MADRID/DELHI (Reuters) -Three Spanish tourists were killed and at
least one Spaniard was injured in an attack by gunmen in Afghanistan's
central Bamyan province, Spain's foreign ministry said on Friday. |
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An Afghan man works in front of the ruins of a 1500-year-old Buddha
statue in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File
Photo |
Earlier on Friday, Taliban interior ministry spokesman Abdul
Mateen Qaniee had said that three foreign tourists and one
Afghan citizen had been killed in the attack.
Four foreign nationals and three Afghans were also injured in
the attack when gunmen opened fire, he added. Four people have
been arrested, he said.
The Spanish foreign ministry said that the consular emergency
unit had been fully mobilised and the victims and their families
were being assisted.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on social messaging
platform X that he was "shocked by the news of the murder of
Spanish tourists in Afghanistan". There was no immediate
indication of why the attack happened.
Mountainous Bamyan is home to a UNESCO world heritage site and
the remains of two giant Buddha statues which were blown up by
the Taliban during their previous rule in 2001.
Since taking over Afghanistan in 2021 the Taliban have vowed to
restore security and encourage a small but growing number of
tourists trickling into the country and sell tickets to access
the Buddha statues.
Friday's attack was among the most serious targeting foreign
citizens since foreign forces left and the Taliban took over in
2021.
The Islamic State claimed an attack that injured Chinese
citizens at a hotel popular with Chinese businessmen in Kabul in
2022.
(Reporting by Ana Cantero and David Latona in Madrid, Mohammad
Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Charlotte Greenfield in Delhi; Editing
by Hugh Lawson, Richard Chang and Alistair Bell)
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