AFGHANISTAN: Three Afghan women working for the Action Aid agency were gunned down yesterday in a rare attack on aid workers in the normally tranquil northern provinces.
The killing underlined the sudden fragility of security across Afghanistan following violent riots in Kabul on Monday that left at least 11 people dead, more than 100 injured and dozens of businesses and aid agencies burnt or looted.
The three aid workers, one aged 20, were gunned down by guerrillas on motorcycles as their vehicle travelled along a quiet rural road near Sheberghan, the capital of Jowzjan province. Their driver was also killed.
The provincial governor blamed the Taliban. "We are shocked and surprised, this is totally unexpected. Normally working in the north is okay," said Action Aid country director GB Adhikali.
Attacks on aid workers are usually confined to the south and southeast, where the insurgency is strongest.
But the Taliban has started to make threats in the northern provinces. Earlier this month a rocket hit a Unicef vehicle in western Afghanistan, killing two Afghan employees.
The rising violence may cause Action Aid to scale back its work in Afghanistan, Mr Adhikali said. The women, who were not named, helped villagers seek funding for western-led development projects, such as new schools and roads.
In Kabul, security forces and tanks took up positions across the city as dazed residents and foreign aid workers counted the cost of the violence.