Monday, October 20, 2008

Gayle Williams
A female British aid worker has been killed by gunmen in Kabul because she was 'spreading Christianity,' it has been confirmed.
Two unidentified hitmen on motorbikes attacked Gayle Williams as she walked alone at 8am, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.
An FCO spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a British national was shot dead in Kabul today. Next of kin have been informed
Ms Williams worked for Serve Afghanistan, a British-registered Christian charity that focuses on public health education, training people with disabilities and community development.
A hospital spokesman said: "Police brought the body of a woman. We still haven't completed our checks, but the initial information is that she received gunshot wounds."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying Ms Williams was killed because she was spreading Christianity.
But Mike Lyth, the Carlisle-based chairman of Serve Afghanistan's board, rejected this explanation.

Afghan Policemen investigate the site of incident in Kabul
He said: "They will make any excuse. They probably saw there was a Christian organisation operating in Kabul and thought, 'this is how we can kill it'.
"We are Christians - that is what gives us the motivation to go into a dangerous and difficult country to try to help.
"But she was not involved in proselytisation."
Mr Lyth described Ms Williams as a "lovely girl", adding: "She was the life and soul of the party, a great adventurer.
"She will be sorely missed - a great girl."
Afghan interior ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said the aid worker was shot in the body and leg with a pistol.
All the aid group's expatriate staff are volunteers, according to its website.
Taliban insurgents have increasingly targeted aid workers this year in their campaign to spread an atmosphere of fear and undermine support for the Western-backed Afghan government.
Taliban insurgents killed three female aid workers and their Afghan driver in an ambush just outside Kabul in August, the bloodiest single attack on foreign humanitarian workers in Afghanistan in recent years.
Rising violence has already forced aid agencies to restrict humanitarian work at a time when drought and high prices are putting more people under pressure