The Islamic State claims responsibility for an attack in Afghanistan that killed three Spaniards and three Afghans

ISLAMABAD – The terrorist militia “Islamic State” has claimed responsibility for an attack on foreigners in central Afghanistan last week in which three Spanish citizens and three Afghans were killed.

Seven people were wounded in Friday’s attack in Bamiyan province, a major tourist area, according to Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the interior minister. He said seven suspects were arrested at the scene.

The Islamic State terrorist group released a statement on its Aamaq news agency late Sunday saying that IS fighters had attacked a bus carrying tourists and their guides. “The attack came in response to orders from IS leaders to attack citizens of the European Union wherever they are,” it said.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry said three Spaniards had died and at least one other was injured. A Taliban official in Bamiyan, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the four injured foreigners were from Spain, Norway, Australia and Latvia.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on the social media platform X that he was “overwhelmed” by the news.

Qani said all the injured had been taken to the capital Kabul for treatment and their condition was stable.

The Afghan branch of the terrorist militia “Islamic State” is a major rival of the Taliban. Its fighters have attacked schools, hospitals, mosques and neighborhoods inhabited by the Shiite minority throughout the country.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final weeks of their withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.

The Taliban want to increase the number of tourists in the country. In 2021, 691 foreign tourists came, in 2022 this number rose to 2,300 and last year it was over 7,000.

Bamiyan was home to two giant Buddha statues carved into a rock face between the 4th and 6th centuries, which were destroyed by the Taliban in early 2001 at the urging of al-Qaeda.

In addition, a hand grenade exploded in the southern city of Kandahar on Monday, killing at least one civilian and wounding three, the Kandahar police chief’s office said.

Police were investigating the explosion near the road to Kandahar airport, the statement said. No group claimed responsibility for the explosion.

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Associated Press writer Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report.