Foreign aid workers gunned down in Afghan ambush

Suspected Taliban militants shot dead seven people working for an international aid group in southern Afghanistan today, an official said.

The nationality of the victims and the name of the relief group were not immediately known, said Ali Khail, the spokesman for the government in Zabul province.

The seven were driving on the main road linking the capital Kabul with the southern city of Kandahar when they were ambushed in Zabul province’s Shahjoy district.

Afghan police and soldiers had been deployed to the area, the official said.

The attack came a day after suspected Taliban militants ambushed and shot dead five Afghans working on a US-funded project to help end opium farming in the south of the country.

Militants have stepped up attacks on military and civilian targets after a winter lull, further impeding aid to the impoverished region.

US and Afghan troops have fought a string of bloody battles with rebels since early April.

About 150 militants have been reported to have been killed in the period, along with 30 members of the Afghan security forces, three US troops and a Romanian soldier.