Gunmen kill 6 Red Cross staff in northern Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Gunmen killed six employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, a spokesman for the aid group said.
Ahmad Ramin Ayaz, the group’s Kabul-based spokesman, said the attack took place in the northern Jowzjan province, without providing further details.
Rahmatullah Turkistani, the chief of the provincial police, confirmed the attack, saying it took place 22 miles west of the provincial capital, Shibirghan.
Lutfullah Azizi, provincial governor of Jowzjan, told CBS News that two additional ICRC staff were taken captive by the attackers. Azizi said a police investigation was underway to find the missing employees.
No one immediately claimed the attack, but Turkistani said militants loyal to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have a presence in the area. The Taliban denied involvement.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber detonated his payload after being stopped outside a district headquarters in the eastern Paktia province, killing two civilians and wounding a policeman, said Abdullah Asrat, the spokesman for the provincial governor.
No one claimed responsibility, but the Taliban frequently attack government targets.
On Tuesday, a suicide bomber struck at the entrance to the Afghan Supreme Court in the capital, Kabul, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 40.