Islamic State claims responsibility for gun attack that killed three Spanish tourists in Afghanistan | World News

The terrorist group’s offshoot in Afghanistan is a major rival to the country’s Taliban government and has already claimed responsibility for an attack on Chinese citizens in Kabul in 2022.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility after three Spanish tourists were killed when gunmen opened fire in central Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province.

An Afghan was also killed in the attack in the mountainous region, and another four foreigners and three Afghans were injured, the Taliban Interior Ministry said.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry announced this on Friday Three of its nationals died in the attack and that at least one other person was injured.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a post on X that he was “overwhelmed” by the news of her death.

Taliban spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said on Friday that four people had been arrested.

The Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan is a major rival to the country’s Taliban government.

An attack on Chinese citizens at a hotel in the capital Kabul in 2022 was previously claimed.

Read more:
How Western tourism is on the rise in Afghanistan

Bamiyan Province is home to the remains of two giant Buddha statues blown up by the Taliban in 2001, and the region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tourism in Afghanistan reached its peak in the 1960s and 1970s when the country was part of the popular “Hippy Trail” route.

Since coming to power in August 2021, the Taliban have been trying to promote Afghanistan as a travel destination – even though the foreign offices of many countries, including the United Kingdom, say the destination is unsafe.

Although the numbers are still small, their efforts appear to have paid off so far. In 2021, 691 foreign tourists visited Afghanistan and by 2023 the number increased to 7,000.