Market Bombings Kill at Least 17 in Historic Afghan City of Bamiyan

Two explosions reported near a hotel

The historic tourist city of Bamiyan is one of Afghanistan’s most secure, after the destruction of ancient Buddha statues, it’s been rare for it to get hit with major attacks. That was the case Tuesday, when a pair of bombings hit a local market, near a hotel.

At least 17 were killed and 50 wounded in the attack. There has been no claim of credit from anyone so far.

That said, Bamiyan is a heavily Shi’ite province, and that’s almost always part of why some Islamist group attacked. This is particularly true of ISIS, which in Afghanistan heavily targets the Shi’ite Hazaras.

Bamiyan is reporting two suspects have been detained, they did not identify them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.