KABUL: Eight foreigners, believed to be medical workers and including “several” Americans and up to six Germans, were killed by gunmen in Afghanistan's remote northeast, police and officials said on Saturday.
“We have reason to believe that several American citizens are among the deceased. We cannot confirm any details at this point,” US Embassy spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killings and accused the medical workers of proselytising Christianity.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, told Reuters from an undisclosed location that bibles translated into Dari had been found.
Afghan police said the eight foreigners, including six Germans, had been shot dead along with three Afghans.
Aqa Noor Kentuz, the police chief for Badakshan province, said the “bullet-riddled” bodies were found early on Saturday.
It was believed they had been shot several days ago.
Kentuz said the foreigners had identified themselves as doctors, while some reports said they were tourists.
He said they had been camping near jungle on a tour of Badakshan and Nuristan when they were attacked by unidentified gunmen. Travel documents were found near their bodies, he said.
“Before their travel we warned them not to tour near jungles in Nuristan but they said they were doctors and no one was going to hurt them,” Kentuz said.
Eye care team
Jamaluddin Badr, governor of nearby Nuristan province, also said the group was made up of doctors who had visited several districts in Nuristan and Badakshan, helping local Afghans.
The International Assistance Mission, which describes itself as an “international charitable, non-profit, Christian organisation” helping Afghans with health and economic development since 1966, said it appeared those killed were part of its eye care team.
“It is likely they are members of the International Assistance Mission eye camp team,” it said in a statement on its website. It said the team had been in Nuristan and was returning to Kabul.
“At this stage we do not have many details but our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who are presumed killed,” the statement said.
“This tragedy negatively impacts our ability to continue serving the Afghan people...we hope it will not stop our work that benefits over a quarter of a million Afghans each year.”
A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin said it was checking reports through its embassy in Kabul and could not comment until more information became available.
Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since US-led and Afghan armed groups overthrew the Taliban in 2001. June was the bloodiest month for foreign forces in Afghanistan since then, with more than 100 killed.
Hundreds of Afghan civilians have also been killed this year as they become caught up in the crossfire. It was not immediately clear why the group was in an area known to be frequented by the Taliban and other insurgent groups such as the Haqqani network.
The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said it had no involvement in the incident and had no information.
Despite a record number of foreign forces in Afghanistan, standing at some 140,000 backed by tens of thousands of Afghan forces, the Taliban have extended their campaign out of traditional power bases in the south and east into the north and elsewhere in recent years.
Nuristan and Badakshan are close to Afghanistan's porous border with Pakistan.
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