Five Red Cross Workers Abducted in Western Afghanistan
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.
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]