On Friday 17th May 2024, we were informed of an incident that occurred in Afghanistan in which a number of western guests and their Afghan guides were attacked.

The incident occurred in the popular tourist region of Bamian and resulted in the deaths of three foreign nationals, as well as one Afghani. There were also four foreigners that were injured, as well as three Afghans. We can confirm that while the group were not traveling with Young Pioneer Tours, both the guide and driver are known to us.

This is obviously devastating news and for now our thoughts go out to the victims of this attack. Said attack was allegedly carried out by rebel group Islamic State in Afghanistan and while it was not the first attack within the country, it was the first to target foreign tourists.

And while the group were not with us, on the surface this seems to have been a completely indiscriminate attack that could have quite literally happened to anyone.

With this in mind, we feel it unnecessary to speculate about who the group were traveling with. For more information about the incident, please check this link.

What will happen with Afghanistan Tours?

As this incident has only just occurred, we are still in talks with our partners in Afghanistan, as well as external sources, to take stock and assess the security situation within the country.

Until this has been done, it is far too early for us to announce what changes will need to be implemented, as well as the future of tourism within the country.

Should you be booked on an upcoming group or independent tour to Afghanistan, then one of our representatives will reach out to you over the coming days.

Otherwise we ask that you be patient until we are ready to give a clearer update with regards to travel in Afghanistan.