Afghanistan: Killed aid worker linked to University of Ulster

A British aid worker killed in Afghanistan when her vehicle was ambushed was tonight named as Dr Jacqueline Kirk, the International Rescue Committee said.

Dr Kirk, a University of Ulster research fellow, was one of three IRC workers gunned down in an ambush in the Logar Province of the war torn country.

The 40-year-old dual UK and Canadian citizen was affiliated to the university’s International Conflict Research centre, based at its Coleraine campus.

Though raised in the UK, Dr Kirk had moved to Quebec in Canada. She had wide experience working with aid organisations such as Unesco and Unicef in troubled areas of the world such as the Lebanon, Rwanda, Angola, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

She had joined IRC in 2004 and had been based at its HQ in New York.

The organisation released Dr Kirk’s name tonight along with two of the other three victims of the ambush.

Mohammad Aimal, 25, from Kabul, Afghanistan had worked as a driver for the IRC since 2002.

Nicole Dial, 30, who lived in Trinidad and Tobago, had been a coordinator in the agency’s programmes for children.

The name of the fourth victim, a Canadian woman, is being withheld at this stage the request of her parents.

A second Afghan driver employed by the IRC was seriously wounded in the attack and has been hospitalised.

The victims were en route to Kabul and travelling in a marked International Rescue Committee vehicle when they came under fire at mid-morning.

“We are stunned and profoundly saddened by this tragic loss,” said George Rupp, president of the International Rescue Committee.

“These extraordinary individuals were deeply committed to aiding the people of Afghanistan, especially the children who have seen so much strife. Words are inadequate to express our sympathy for the families and loved ones of the victims and our devoted team of humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan.”

The IRC has been working in Afghanistan for 20 years, providing lifesaving aid and recovery assistance to the Afghan people.

As of July, the staff comprised 531 Afghans and 11 expatriates.

The IRC has suspended operations in Afghanistan indefinitely in the wake of the attack.

The agency carries out humanitarian relief and development programmes in 42 countries and operates a network of refugee resettlement offices in 24 cities in the United States.