Travel Warning: Afghanistan

Originally released June 9, 2005, this information is current as of Monday, November 7, 2005. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid a certain country.

This Travel Warning provides updated information on the security situation in Afghanistan. The security threat to all American citizens in Afghanistan remains critical. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning for Afghanistan issued November 11, 2004.

The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens against travel to Afghanistan. There is an ongoing threat to kidnap and assassinate U.S. citizens and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) workers throughout the country. The ability of Afghan authorities to maintain order and ensure the security of citizens and visitors is limited. Remnants of the former Taliban regime and the terrorist al-Qaida network, and other groups hostile to the government, remain active. U.S.-led military operations continue. Travel in all areas of Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, is unsafe due to military operations, landmines, banditry, armed rivalry among political and tribal groups, and the possibility of terrorist attacks, including attacks using vehicular or other Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and kidnapping. The security environment remains volatile and unpredictable. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 18, 2005. There is a potential risk for violence during the election period.

A number of attacks on international organizations, international aid workers, and foreign interests have occurred throughout the country since the beginning of 2005. Foreigners in Kabul and elsewhere throughout the country were targeted for violent attacks and kidnappings. In March, a Canadian diplomatic vehicle was damaged by an improvised explosive device (IED) while traveling on a main highway outside Kabul. That month a British NGO worker was shot to death in downtown Kabul after leaving a restaurant known to be popular with foreigners. In April a U.S. citizen was kidnapped in Kabul for a short time but managed to escape from his abductors.

The month of May witnessed several attempted kidnappings of foreigners in Kabul, including a group of World Bank employees. Kidnappers were successful in abducting an Italian citizen working for CARE International from her car in a downtown Kabul neighborhood popular with foreign residents. A foreign UN worker was injured in a grenade attack on an Internet café in downtown Kabul at the beginning of the month. Violent demonstrations in multiple locations throughout Afghanistan resulted in significant damage to the offices of international organizations and other foreign interests, and the death of 19 Afghans. Attacks on Afghan workers affiliated with international organizations occurred throughout the country, sometimes resulting in fatalities. There have been multiple rocket attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan, including a rocket that hit the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) compound near the Embassy in late May.

Family members of official Americans assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul are not allowed to reside in Afghanistan. In addition, unofficial travel to Afghanistan by U.S. Government employees and their family members requires prior approval by the Department of State. From time to time, the U.S. Embassy places areas frequented by foreigners off limits to its personnel depending on current security conditions. Potential target areas include key national or international government establishments, international organizations and other locations with expatriate personnel, and public areas popular with the expatriate community. Private U.S. citizens are strongly urged to heed these restrictions as well and may obtain the latest information by calling the U.S. Embassy in Kabul or consulting the embassy website below. Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations, bombings, assassinations, carjackings, rocket attacks, assaults or kidnappings. Possible threats include conventional weapons such as explosive devises or non-conventional weapons, including chemical or biological agents.

The United States Embassy cannot provide visa services, and its ability to provide emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan is limited. Afghan authorities also can provide only limited assistance to U.S. citizens facing difficulties.

U.S. citizens who choose to visit or remain in Afghanistan despite this Travel Warning are urged to pay close attention to their personal security, and avoid rallies and demonstrations. They are also encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Afghanistan. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the U.S. Embassy. Registering makes it easier for the Embassy to contact Americans in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located at Great Masood Road between Radio Afghanistan and the Ministry of Public Health (the road is also known as Bebe Mahro (Airport) Road), Kabul. The phone number is (93-20) 230-0436. The Embassy website is http://www.embassyofafghanistan.org/.

Updated information on travel and security in Afghanistan may be obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. For further information, please consult the Consular Information sheet for Afghanistan and the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, all of which are available on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet website at http://travel.state.gov.

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