Islamic State claims killing of Chinese national in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD — 

Taliban authorities successful northeastern Afghanistan said Wednesday that a weapon onslaught resulted successful the decease of a Chinese national, portion his section interpreter escaped unharmed.

An Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate, IS-Khorasan, claimed work for the deadly overnight shooting successful Takhar province, which sits connected the country’s borderline with Tajikistan. The violent outfit said connected its Amaq media outlet that its “soldiers” utilized a instrumentality weapon to people the Chinese man.

Taliban officials said the slain foreigner was moving for a mining institution successful the country.

Mohammad Akbar, the provincial constabulary chief, said the Chinese national was being driven with his interpreter to the Dasht-e-Qala territory precocious Tuesday erstwhile their conveyance was ambushed.

Akbar said that overseas travelers indispensable notify section constabulary earlier embarking connected a roadworthy trip, but helium said the deceased Chinese national failed to bash so. The constabulary serviceman added that an probe into the onslaught was underway.

“I judge our embassy successful Afghanistan volition way the accusation implicit what’s happened and bash its utmost to support the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens and their safety,” said Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, during a property league successful Beijing erstwhile asked astir the shooting incident.

Tuesday’s fatal battle connected a Chinese nationalist successful Afghanistan marked the archetypal specified incidental since December 2022, erstwhile IS-Khorasan militants stormed a Kabul edifice fashionable with Chinese investors. That onslaught resulted successful the deaths of 3 Afghans and injuries to 18 people, including 5 Chinese nationals.

The Taliban regained power of Afghanistan successful August 2021, erstwhile the United States and its Western allies withdrew their troops from the state aft a astir two-decade-long presence.

While de facto Afghan rulers asseverate they person restored bid and bid to the conflict-torn state since seizing power, IS-Khorasan has conducted repeated high-profile attacks targeting Taliban leaders, cardinal spiritual figures and members of the Afghan number Shiite community.

No state has officially recognized the fundamentalist Taliban arsenic morganatic rulers successful Kabul, chiefly implicit their sweeping curbs connected Afghan women’s rights and freedoms and different quality rights concerns.

China was the archetypal state to name an ambassador to Afghanistan and recognized a Taliban ambassador successful Beijing since the radical took control. It besides has enhanced bilateral commercialized and concern ties with the de facto Kabul authorities to assistance stabilize the Afghan system and woody with a dire humanitarian crisis.

Chinese investors person signed important agreements with Kabul successful the Afghan mining and lipid sectors since the Taliban takeover.

Analysts suggest that China’s information concerns are motivating its increasing diplomatic and economical engagement with the Taliban to forestall the state from descending into chaos again, which could pb to militants utilizing Afghan territory arsenic a basal for launching violent attacks against Chinese interests.