Gunmen open fire and kill 4 people, including 3 Spaniards, in Afghanistan’s central Bamyan province

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Several gunmen opened fire in central Afghanistan late on Friday, killing at least four people, including three foreign nationals, a Taliban spokesman said.

The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that three Spaniards had died in the attack and that at least one more had been injured. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described them as “tourists” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing that he was “overwhelmed” by the news.

Four suspects were arrested at the scene in Bamyan province, a major tourist area, and an investigation was underway, the official said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the late-evening attack.

According to Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the Taliban’s interior ministry, seven other people, including four foreign nationals were wounded in the attack. He did not elaborate or give the nationality of the foreign citizens.

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.

Blame is likely to fall on the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan, a major Taliban rival. IS militants have carried out scores of attacks on schools, hospitals, mosques and minority Shiite areas throughout the country.

Bamiyan is probably best known as the site of two massive Buddha statues that were carved into the cliff face between the 4th and 6th century and which were destroyed by the Taliban at al-Qaida’s urging in early 2001.