Iran Denounces Terrorist Attack on Foreign Tourists in Central Afghanistan

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has strongly condemned the terrorist attack on a group of foreign tourists at a market in Afghanistan’s central province of Bamiyan, where at least six people were killed.

Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Saturday, expressed sympathy with the bereaved and wished a swift recovery for the injured.

Taliban-led interior ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qane said 11 people were shot on Friday and that six of them, including three foreigners, died.

Among the other seven victims were four foreigners and three Afghans, he added.

Security forces have arrested four people in connection with the attack, Qane said.

The Taliban government “strongly condemns this crime, expresses its deep feelings to the families of the victims, and assures that all the criminals will be found and punished,” he said.

Afghan hospital sources said preliminary information indicated that three Spanish nationals were killed, and that the wounded were from Norway, Australia, Lithuania and Spain.

A spokesman for the Spanish foreign ministry confirmed that Spanish nationals were among the victims in the attack. The spokesman said the total number of victims had yet to be confirmed.

Mountainous Bamiyan 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.