UN worker killed in Kabul

An Afghan man working for the United Nations was shot and killed in his vehicle today near a busy traffic island in Afghanistan’s capital, the world body said.

The man who died was driving a white pick-up truck with the blue UN logo painted on the side.

Another Afghan member of the UN staff who was in the vehicle was not wounded, the UN said.

The morning shooting occurred in heavy traffic near Massoud circle, an intersection near the US Embassy and an American military base.

“The circumstances of the shooting are not yet clear,” a statement released by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said. “United Nations security teams are working with Afghan security institutions to assist investigations.”

UN officials extended condolences to the victim, who has not been identified.

“The United Nations condemns violence against any of its personnel under any circumstances,” the UN statement said. “Those responsible for this killing should be brought to justice without delay.”

Meanwhile in south-east Kabul, a protest against Nato forces in Afghanistan turned violent as demonstrators clashed with police. At least 15 police officers and five civilians were wounded, according to Mohammad Khalil Dastyar, deputy police chief in the capital.

About 300 protesters blocked streets in the neighbourhood of Qalacha. Some threw rocks through windows. A small group hoisted a banner that said: “We don’t want American occupiers.”

The protest was prompted by a raid that Afghan police and intelligence officials conducted on Monday night at a madrassa, or religious school, in which three people were arrested, Mr Dastyar said.

Lieutenant Commander Iain Baxter confirmed that Nato forces took part in a search in Kabul last night and arrested a number of suspected insurgents.

Separately, three Afghan soldiers have been killed and seven others wounded since Monday morning in bomb explosions across the country, according to the Ministry of Defence. No other details were provided.

The Ministry of Interior reported that a private security guard was killed when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Sayd Abad district of Wardak province, west of Kabul, and two civilians were killed when their motorbike hit a roadside bomb in the Pusht Rod district of Farah province in western Afghanistan.

In the south, two security guards were killed and three wounded in an explosion in the Maizan district of Zabul province, said Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Also in Zabul, six security guards were killed and five others wounded in a three-hour gun battle with insurgents.

In neighbouring Kandahar, two local men were killed by a roadside bomb in Khakrez district, according to Zulmai Ayubi, spokesman for the provincial governor.