Bamyan, Afghanistan: Australian tourist is injured and four others are killed after gunmen suddenly open fire in city’s bazaar

An Australian tourist has been injured and four others killed in a deadly shooting incident in central Afghanistan.

Three Spanish tourists and an Afghan were killed on Friday evening when gunmen opened fire in the town of Bamyan, the Interior Ministry said.

“Unfortunately, a shooting on the public took place this evening in Bamyan town, killing three foreigners, including one Afghan, and wounding four foreigners, including three Afghans,” Interior Ministry spokesman Mufti Abdul Mateen Qani said in a statement on the Ministry of the Interior’s website. X.

“The security forces have started to find the killers and so far four people have been arrested in the case.

An Australian tourist was among foreigners injured in the armed attack, which took place in the city’s bazaar.

An Australian tourist was among foreigners injured in the armed attack, which took place in the bazaar in the town of Bamyan (pictured) in central Afghanistan

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez went to X to express his sorrow over the murder of his compatriots.

“Overwhelmed by the news of the killing of Spanish tourists in Afghanistan,” he said.

“The (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) emergency consular unit is working to provide all necessary assistance.”

Graphic footage of the aftermath of the attack shows men loading bloodied corpses into an ambulance.

The European Union’s diplomatic service issued a statement condemning the attack in the “strongest terms.”

“We condemn in the strongest terms the armed attack on 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, took control of Afghanistan after the US withdrew from the country in 2021 after two decades of counterinsurgency warfare.

Australia has no formal diplomatic ties with the new government.

A Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed to NewsWire that the department “provided consular assistance to an Australian man 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 currently ‘severely limited’.

Bamyan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for two giant Buddhist statues destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

‘Carved into the Bamiyan cliffs are the two niches of the gigantic Buddha statues (55 and 38 meters high) destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, and numerous caves that form a large ensemble of Buddhist monasteries, chapels and shrines along the foothills of the valley dating from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD,” says UNESCO.

‘In various caves and niches, often connected by galleries, remains of murals and seated Buddha figures can be found.’