Five aid workers, who were in Afghanistan working on behalf of the International Committee of the Red Cross, were abducted in the Herat province on Saturday, a spokesperson said. The Red Cross is working on securing their release.

According to Marek Resich, a spokesperson for the ICRC, the aid workers had been traveling by road on Friday night when they were abducted by a local armed group.

Via the Associated Press:

The aid workers were delivering sheep to local villages when they were stopped by the gunmen, said Raouf Ahmadi, a police spokesman in Herat province. He said the gunmen took both the workers and the sheep, which could indicate that the abduction was part of a robbery as opposed to a militant attack.

Resich confirmed that the ICRC is "currently in contact at various levels to secure the safe release of its team."

[Image via AP]