Gunmen kill at least four people at Afghanistan picnic spot

Officials say attackers opened fire near the village of Deh Mehri in Herat. Afghanistan: Gunmen kill at least four people at picnic spot Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. A hospital in Herat city received the dead and injured A young male is seen lying down on a stretcher in a hospital ward, hooked up to a drip, as a woman kneels by his side and holds his hand. A man in scrubs is seen stood next to the stretcher looking on at a group on men gathered at the end of the stretcher, while another person can be seen lying on a stretcher in the background Gunmen kill at least four people at Afghanistan picnic spot Multiple people have been killed after gunmen targeted civilians at a picnic spot in western Afghanistan, officials and a local doctor have said. There have been different reported death tolls from the attack in the Enjil district of Herat province on Friday. A Taliban interior ministry spokesperson said seven people were killed, with a provincial official reporting four had died. No group has claimed responsibility so far. "Unidentified armed men" riding motorcycles opened fire near the village of Deh Mehri, an interior ministry spokesperson said. The recreational area is usually crowded on Fridays. A doctor from a hospital in Herat province told the BBC the victims were Hazara Shia Muslims. The doctor said the victims had gone to a local shrine for a picnic. He gave a higher casualty figure than officials, saying 12 people had been killed and 12 injured. Shia Muslims, primarily from the Hazara ethnic group, are a minority in Afghanistan they have been targeted in the past. Ahmadullah Muttaqi, the provincial head of information and culture for the Taliban government in Herat, said the incident happened at about 15:00 local time (11:30 BST). "In a terrorist incident, armed men opened fire on residents who had gone to Deh Mehri village in Enjil district for recreation," he told the BBC. Muttaqi said four bodies, as well as 15 wounded people - including two women - had been taken to the Herat regional hospital. A suspect had been arrested by security forces, he said. In a post on X, interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said preliminary information indicated seven people were killed and 13 others were wounded, with some reported to be in critical condition. The village where the attack took place in is a predominantly Shiite village and has a Shiite Muslim shrine that many people visit daily to visit and pray, Muttaqi said. Ben Roberts-Smith faces five charges of the war crime of murder, which has a penalty of life in prison. Ben Roberts-Smith, who denies all wrongdoing, previously lost a landmark defamation case over the alleged murders. Glamorgan sign Afghanistan paceman Fazalhaq Farooqi for the T20 Blast. Coyle, who was working as a language researcher, according to his family, was arrested in January 2025. The two sides have different versions of how and why the deadly dispute began. The latest attacks by Pakistan follow months of clashes between the two countries. despite agreeing to a fragile ceasefire in October. Pakistan says the strikes were retaliation for recent suicide bombings in the country. Peter and Barbie Reynolds were released by the Taliban in September after being detained for seven-and-a-half months.