Police said on Wednesday a Chinese mine worker was killed in an attack in Afghanistan which the Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for, as the Taliban government attempts to project an image of security to encourage investment from Beijing.
The Chinese citizen was travelling on Tuesday evening in northern Takhar province bordering Tajikistan when he was killed by “unknown armed men”, provincial police spokesman Mohammad Akbar Haqqani said.
He said the man was travelling “for an unknown reason” and without notifying security officials, who typically accompany Chinese nationals on trips in the country.
A translator travelling with the man was unharmed, Haqqani added.
The Islamic State (Isis) group’s regional chapter claimed responsibility for the attack later on Wednesday, according to jihadist monitor SITE.
“[Islamic State] issued a communique … reporting that fighters fired at a vehicle carrying a ‘communist Chinese’ in Takhar, a province in which the group was last active in 2022,” the monitor said.
Security has drastically improved in Afghanistan since foreign troops withdrew in 2021 and the Taliban ended their insurgency as they swept back to power.
But the regional chapter of Isis regularly stages attacks on civilians, security forces, Taliban government officials and foreigners in Afghanistan.
At least five Chinese nationals were wounded when gunmen stormed a Kabul hotel popular with Beijing businessmen in a 2022 attack claimed by Isis.
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Interesting that ISIS seems to mainly target US adversaries instead of, you know, that one obvious target in the middle east.
In fact, they have directly worked with/received aid from “israel”
Just gonna leave these here
The Independent last month: Uyghurs among foreign militants given ranks in Syrian military
Are these CIA trained & armed “moderate rebels” going to travel back to “East Turkistan” and terrorize the region again?
