At least five foreign tourists and their driver were wounded in Afghanistan yesterday in an attack by gunmen on their convoy as it passed through western Herat province, government officials said.

The group included at least six British citizens, three Americans and a German, said Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for Herat's governor.

At least three Britons were wounded, but the nationalities of the other victims were not immediately known.

Farhad said security forces had been sent to the scene.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman for the militants, Zabiullah Mujahid, said on Twitter the group had killed the foreign "invaders" as well as seven "slave" Afghan soldiers.

Several foreign tourism companies advertise adventure tours to Afghanistan, including one British firm which had a trip scheduled to the area in Herat this week.

Afghanistan remains locked in a violent insurgency and Western embassies typically warn their citizens against all but essential travel there, citing threats of attack and kidnapping.