UN workers killed in Taliban shootout
Five UN workers killed in Taliban attacks in Afghan capital including one American
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Wednesday, 28, Oct 2009 05:04
By Sarah Garrod.
At least five foreign United Nations (UN) workers have been killed by the Taliban in an attack in the Afghan capital.
Several more were wounded in the attack, while two Afghan security personnel and a civilian were also killed in the shooting in Kabul.
Reports say the attack happened when three Taliban militants stormed a guesthouse at 06:00 local time (01:30 GMT) this morning. A rocket was also shot through a luxury hotel, used by foreign workers and diplomats, forcing around 100 guests to seek shelter in a bunker.
The UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has condemned the attacks, but said the UN's work in the country would not be deterred. The dead have not yet been named or their nationalities given, but the US said an American citizen was among them. "This is very dark day for the UN in Afghanistan," Kai Eide, the secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN mission to the country (UNAMA), said in a statement.
The Taliban have already claimed responsibility for the attack, which they said was prompted by the upcoming second round of presidential elections in the country, which are due in ten days.
"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the despicable and brutal killing, for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility in an apparent effort to disrupt the second round of the presidential election," said Mr. Ban.
"We will not be deterred from this noble mission."
The guesthouse targeted in this morning's attack is privately run and used by UN, as well as other international employees in Kabul.
A statement from the US embassy in the Afghan capital read: "The United States condemns the attack today on a guest house in Kabul, which killed at least six United Nations employees, including one American, and injured many others.
"This brutal attack on our international partners and friends, who were working to help build a secure and peaceful future for all Afghans, leaves us shocked and saddened. Attacking civilian workers will not lessen our determination to support the Afghan people and their election process. Our sympathies are with the families who have lost loved ones in this violence."