Three aid workers killed, British forces launch air assaults

Jun 23, 2009, 12:45 GMT

   Kabul - Three Afghan aid workers were killed by a roadside bomb in north-western Afghanistan Tuesday, while British forces launched an air offensive against the Taliban in the south.

   A bomb struck a vehicle of the non-governmental Development and Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan in Aqcha district of Jawzjan province, a spokesman for the organization said.

   Najeeba Ayubi told the German Press Agency dpa that the workers were involved in providing shelter for returnees and internally displaced people, and were on the way to a project site when their vehicle was blown up.

The workers were using unmarked vehicles given to them by the United Nations refugee commission, a UN spokesman said.

   No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

   Jawzjan is a relatively calm province in north-western Afghanistan.

   Meanwhile, NATO-led British forces were conducting air assaults in the volatile southern Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold for the past three years.

   The British troops employed 25 aircraft in the operation - a largest one - including Chinook choppers, Apache and Black Hawk gunship choppers accompanied by Harrier jets and unmanned drones.

   The operation dubbed 'Panther's Claw' is using 25 aircraft including helicopter gunships, Harrier jets and unmanned drones to attack Taliban bases along a river in the Babaji area.

   'This has been a major air assault operation with a large number of helicopters. The Black Watch met some resistance but we were able to establish a firm foothold in the area,' said Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Cartwright, commanding officer of the operation.