Category: News & Politics

Tags: Afghanistan, British, Medic, Among, Foreign, Aid, Workers, Ambushed, And, Killed, By, The, Taliban

A British doctor is among eight foreign medical workers shot dead in a remote part of Afghanistan. The bodies of Karen Woo, 36, six Americans and a German, were found in Badakhshan province. Two Afghans travelling with them were also killed. Police suspect robbery, but the Taliban has claimed responsibility, saying the group and their Afghan interpreters were "spying for America and preaching Christianity". The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was "urgently investigating". The bodies were discovered in a remote forest alongside three bullet-riddled, four-wheeled drive vehicles. Dr Woo, who was due to be married in a few weeks' time, had spent months raising funds and providing medical care in Afghanistan. Dr Karen Woo: Villagers reportedly warned against the medics' trip Provincial police chief General Agha Noor Kemtuz said one survivor of the attack had described how the victims were ambushed, then lined up and shot. The doctors had spent several nights in the forest travelling between Badakhshan and Nuristan provinces, according to the account of "Saifullah", who says he was released by the men without being hurt. "On the last day they were confronted by a group of armed men who lined them up and shot them. Their money and belongings were all stolen," said Gen Kemtuz. "Saifullah" said he escaped death by reading verses of the Koran, prompting the men to realise he was a Muslim and release him in neighbouring Nuristan. The bodies of the foreigners were found in Badakhshan The police chief said local villagers had warned the group not to enter the dangerous forested area, but they had insisted they would be safe because they were doctors. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said: "Yesterday at around 8am, one of our patrols confronted a group of foreigners. They were Christian missionaries and we killed them all." Mujahed said they had been carrying Persian-language Bibles, a satellite tracking device and maps. Director Dirk Frans believes the medics had been volunteering for his International Assistance Mission charity at an eye hospital in Nuristan. The victims are thought to be International Assistance Mission volunteers He said the group had decided to drive through Badakhshan to Kabul as they thought it would be the safest route. Among the dead was team leader Tom Little, an optometrist from Delmar, New York, who had been working in Afghanistan for more than 30 years, Mr Frans said. A statement on the Christian charity's website said: "This tragedy negatively impacts our ability to continue serving the Afghan people as IAM has been doing since 1966. "We hope it will not stop our work that benefits over a quarter of a million Afghans each year."

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