Afghanistan Travel Advice

Travellers are strongly advised against all but essential travel to Kabul, and against all travel to the Surobi, Paghman, Musayhi and Chahar Asyab Districts of Kabul province; Kunduz and Baghlan-e Jadid District of Baghlan; Ghazni, Kapisa Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Paktika, Wardak and Paktya in Eastern Afghanistan; Helmand, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan and Zabul in Southern Afghanistan, and Badghis, Farah and the Shindand and Gozarah Districts of Herat province in Western Afghanistan.

Travellers should only consider travel to other provinces if they have strong commercial or professional reasons to do so.

There is a high threat of terrorism in Afghanistan. Specific methods of attack are evolving and increasing in sophistication. No part of Afghanistan should be considered immune from violence and the potential exists throughout the country for hostile acts. Visitors travelling to Afghanistan do so at their own risk and without protection from HMG.

Additional vigilance and care should be taken, particularly in and around landmark locations and places where large public crowds can gather. Hotels used by western nationals, international embassies, government ministries and military establishments have been attacked in the past and it is likely that there will be further such attacks.

On 18 January 2010, at least 17 insurgents carried out an audacious complex attack in Kabul City, directed mainly against the Ministries of Justice, Finance and Education, as well as the Presidential Palace. Also affected were hotels, cinemas and a shopping centre. During the attack, two car bombs and four body-borne suicide bombers were detonated and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and small arms were fired. The siege lasted for over six hours, during which 15 of the insurgents are known to have died and two were captured. There were six Afghan civilian/security force deaths and another 80 were wounded.

Kabul City has witnessed a significant escalation in the number of suicide and rocket attacks in recent months. Since late August 2009, there have been 10 suicide attacks in the City, with several further suicide attacks known to have been thwarted. Of these, six have been directed against ISAF (including an attack on their main headquarters in Shash Darak).

Not only has the frequency of attack increased, but also the audacity and scale. It remains likely that insurgent commanders will continue to attempt to carry out sporadic attacks inside Kabul City.

On 14 January 2008, terrorists carried out an attack at the Serena Hotel. Reports indicate that at least six people were killed and many more wounded. Foreign nationals were amongst the dead and the wounded. On 27 November 2007, in Kabul, a suicide bomber in a vehicle killed himself and one civilian in an attack targeting a foreign military convoy in central Kabul. Several people were also wounded in the blast. 

A suicide bomber detonated a bomb on a bus carrying Afghan police in Kabul on 2 October 2007. Reporting indicates that at least 11 people were killed and many more wounded. On 29 September 2007, a man boarded an Afghan army bus and detonated a suicide vest killing some thirty people and injuring more than twenty more. On 17 June 2007, a bomb attack on an Afghan police bus in Kabul killed over 20 people with a similar number injured, reportedly including some civilians.

On 16 June 2007, a suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a US military convoy to the west of Kabul, killing himself and up to four civilians, injuring five, including a US soldier. On 27 February 2007 a suicide bomb attack took place outside the US military base at Bagram, 50km (31 miles) North of Kabul. Reports indicate that approximately 19 people were killed in the blast. 

On 18 August 2007, a German female aid worker was kidnapped at gunpoint from a restaurant in Kabul, the first foreigner to be abducted in Kabul since 2005. The aid worker was freed the following day after a police raid on a house in the outskirts of Kabul. A number of suspected abductors were arrested during the raid. There is a continuing high threat of kidnap to foreign nationals in Kabul.

Travellers are advised to maintain a high level of vigilance and to seek professional security advice on adequate security arrangements.

The security situation remains serious and the threat to Westerners from terrorist or criminal violence remains high. If travelling by road visitors should only travel in fully protected transport, with reputable local drivers and guides.

Travellers who believe that their visit is essential are advised to seek local advice before undertaking their journey. They should review their security arrangements in-country and should seek professional advice on whether they are adequate. Information on specific and urgent threats is circulated via the Warden network within Afghanistan.  It is therefore important that visitors register with their embassy in Kabul on arrival.

Travellers are strongly advised to avoid any protests, demonstrations and large gatherings.

Travellers should be aware that there is a widespread danger from mines and unexploded ordnance throughout Afghanistan.

This advice is based on information provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK. It is correct at time of publishing. As the situation can change rapidly, visitors are advised to contact the following organisaions for the latest travel advice: 

British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Tel: 0845 850 2829.
Website: www.fco.gov.uk

US Department of State
Website: http://travel.state.gov/travel