April 22, 2024
British tourists attacked in Afghanistan
A number of British holidaymakers are wounded after being attacked by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.
AT least seven foreign tourists – including a number of Britons – have been wounded in Afghanistan, after Taliban insurgents attacked a group of holidaymakers.
Twelve travellers were attacked by the militant gunmen as their convoy made its way through Herat province in the west of the country, Afghan government officials said.
Eight British tourists were among the group, though it is unclear how many of them suffered injuries.
Three Americans and one German tourist are also said to have been travelling in the convoy, which was ambushed in the district of Chesht-e-Sharif.
It is thought they will be transferred to Iraq
It is not known why they were travelling overland despite travel warnings from most Western embassies, who have cited threats of kidnapping and attacks.
Afghanistan’s interior ministry said the group were on their way from Bamyan province in the centre of the country to the city of Herat.
They were being escorted to Herat city after the insurgents were repelled, the regional governor’s spokesman said.
It is thought they were treated at a hospital in Obeh district in the northeast of Herat province.
The driver was also injured in the ambush, the spokesman added.
The convoy was attacked as it moved from Bamyan province to Herat
The Taliban has intensified nationwide attacks, with foreigners increasingly targeted as the conflict escalates.
Bamyan, home to a large national park, attracts some of the few tourists who do visit Afghanistan, but it is wedged between volatile provinces locked in a violent insurgency.
Highways in Afghanistan have become increasingly dangerous, with armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travellers.
The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to large parts of Afghanistan, warning of a high threat from terrorism and kidnapping throughout the country.
On Monday, a hotel popular with foreigners in the capital Kabul was attacked by the Taliban.
Translator Zabihullah Tamanna (L) and photojournalist David Gilkey
Guests and staff escaped unharmed from the truck bombing, but a policeman was killed in the assault.
US journalist David Gilkey and his Afghan translator were killed in June after the army unit they were with came under fire in Helmand province.
The US had warned its citizens that the kidnapping risk in Afghanistan is “very high”. news.sky.com
