Bodies of 18 Afghan migrants who died while being smuggled into Bulgaria returned to Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A spokesman for the Taliban government’s foreign ministry says the bodies of 18 Afghan migrants who died while being smuggled into Bulgaria have been repatriated. Bulgarian police discovered the bodies in a secret compartment below a load of lumber in the back of a truck left on a highway not far from the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, in February. The deputy spokesman said on Wednesday that the government in Kabul covered the repatriation expenses, but blamed the “cruel banking restrictions” imposed after the Taliban takeover of August 2021 for the delayed return of the bodies, along with the Bulgarian legal process. He urged Afghans not to risk their lives on illegal smuggling routes.