An Australian tourist was injured and four other people were killed in a deadly shooting in central Afghanistan.
Three Spanish tourists and an Afghan were killed when gunmen opened fire in the city of Bamiyan on Friday night, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
“Unfortunately, this afternoon in the city of Bamyan there was a shooting against the public, in which three foreigners, including an Afghan, were killed and four foreigners, including three Afghans, were injured,” said the Interior Ministry spokesperson, Mufti Abdul Mateen Qani, in a statement published in X.
‘Security forces began trying to find the killers and so far, four people have been arrested in this case.
An Australian tourist was one of the foreigners injured in the armed attack, which took place in the city’s bazaar.
Three foreign tourists and an Afghan were killed when gunmen opened fire in the city of Bamiyan on Friday night, Interior Ministry spokesman Mufti Abdul Mateen Qani said.
An Australian tourist was one of the foreigners injured in the armed attack, which took place in the bazaar of the city of Bamiyan (pictured), in central Afghanistan.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, turned to X to express his pain at the murder of his compatriots.
“Overwhelmed by the news of the murder of Spanish tourists in Afghanistan,” he said.
“The consular emergency unit of the (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is working to offer all necessary assistance.”
Graphic images of the aftermath of the attack show men loading bloodied bodies into an ambulance.
The European Union Diplomatic Service issued a statement condemning the attack in the “strongest terms.”
“We condemn in the strongest terms the armed attack against a group of foreign tourists visiting Bamyan, Afghanistan,” the statement read.
“Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims who lost their lives and those injured in the attack.”
The Taliban, an authoritarian Islamist regime, gained control of Afghanistan after the United States withdrew from the country in 2021 following a 20-year counterinsurgency war.
Australia has no formal diplomatic ties with the new government.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson confirmed to NewsWire that the department was providing “consular assistance to an Australian in Afghanistan.”
Pictured is a UNESCO image of the Bamiyan Valley in central Afghanistan.
“Due to our privacy obligations we cannot comment further,” the spokesperson said.
DFAT states on its website that its ability to provide assistance in Afghanistan is “very limited” at present.
Bamiyan is a UNESCO World Heritage area known for two giant Buddhist statues that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
‘In the cliffs of Bamiyan there are the two niches of the giant Buddha statues (55 m and 38 m high) destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 and numerous caves that form a large complex of monasteries, chapels and Buddhist sanctuaries along the foothills of the valley dating from the 3rd to 5th century AD,” says UNESCO.
“In several of the caves and niches, often joined by galleries, there are remains of wall paintings and figures of seated Buddha.”