Three aid workers killed in Afghanistan: officials

Afghan security personnel stand guard in Chaghcharan, the capital of central Ghor province. Wakil Kohsar / AFP

Three Afghan aid workers employed by Catholic Relief Services have been gunned down and killed in central Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday.

The attack happened on Monday near the capital of Ghor province, Chaghcharan, an area once relatively peaceful but now home to active Taliban and ISIL militants.

Two CRS employees were also wounded, but the identity of the gunmen was unknown, said Iqbal Nezami, a spokesman for the provincial police.

Afghanistan is consistently considered one of the deadliest countries in the world for aid workers.

At least 12 have died in Afghanistan so far this year, compared to 15 in all of 2016, according to the United Nations.

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"I call on all parties to ensure that those providing humanitarian assistance have safe access to the most vulnerable and can carry out their lifesaving work unhindered," UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan Richard Peeperkorn said about the CRS attack.

The organisation, which could not immediately confirm the report, provides humanitarian aid to more than 200,000 Afghans, with a focus on agriculture, education, and disaster response, according to its website.

Besides Ghor, CRS also operates in Afghanistan's Herat, Bamiyan, Daykundi, and Kabul provinces.