Gunmen kill multiple 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.