Killing of Tourists in Bamyan Sparks Intl Reactions

The former president of Afghanistan and the former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation condemned the attack. The president of Spain also expressed sorrow over the death of Spanish citizens in Afghanistan and mentioned ongoing efforts to assist those affected and to investigate the incident.

Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan, wrote: “I condemn the armed attack in Bamyan, which resulted in the deaths of three Spanish citizens and one of our compatriots, and injured several other foreign tourists and civilians. This is a terrorist incident.”

Abdullah Abdullah, the former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, wrote: “According to international law and the accepted customs of the Afghan people, targeting foreign tourists and civilian citizens is condemnable and reprehensible.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the U.S. special representative, the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. embassy for Afghanistan, the European Union, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Japanese embassy for Afghanistan also condemned the attack.

The United Nations representative in Afghanistan wrote on X: “UNAMA is deeply shocked and appalled by the deadly terrorist attack on unarmed civilians and tourists in Bamyan, central Afghanistan.”

Thomas West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, reacted to the attack by stating: “The United States is deeply saddened to hear about the shooting attack in Bamiyan, which killed and wounded Afghan civilians and foreign nationals. Our thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. Violence is not the answer.”

Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “We condemn yesterday’s (Friday) terrorist act in Bamyan, Afghanistan, against foreign tourists and ordinary citizens.”

Saaduddin Saeed, the deputy minister of tourism for the Ministry of Information and Culture, told TOLOnews: “This was a group of 13 foreign tourists, including 8 from Spain, along with Afghans and people from other countries. An Afghan company had brought them as a group.”

Kamran Aman, a military analyst, said: “This attack was deliberately carried out to show the world that Afghanistan is an unstable country and to prove that the lives of tourists and foreigners in Afghanistan are at risk.”

Zalmai Afghanyar, another military analyst, said: “The aim of this attack is to create a rift between Afghanistan and the international community and to share Afghanistan’s horrifying image with the world.”

In the armed attack on Friday in Bamyan, six people, including three Spanish citizens and three civilians, were killed, and seven others, including three Afghans and four foreign citizens, were injured.