Afghan worker 'killed by Taleban'

An Afghan aid worker has been killed during an ambush carried out by suspected members of the Taleban.

The driver of the vehicle the worker was in was injured by gunfire, according to police reports.

It is the second fatal attack on aid workers in south-eastern Afghanistan this month.

In Kabul, the European Union has handed over some $17m to help bolster the national police force ahead of elections due to be held next year.

'Work of terrorists'

Three people were travelling in a vehicle being used by the Voluntary Association for the Rehabilitation of Afghanistan (Vara) on Wednesday when it was ambushed.

Armed men opened fire as it was travelling in the province of Helmand, north-west of Kandahar.

An engineer working for Vara was killed, the Associated Press news agency reports and the driver is reported to have been badly injured.

"This is the work of terrorists who do not want peace and stability in Afghanistan," Mohammed Ismail of Vara told the news agency.

The attack highlights the growing security threat to humanitarian organisations in south-eastern Afghanistan.

Four Afghan aid workers employed by a Danish charity were killed earlier this month in the province of Ghazni when armed men stopped their car.

In August two aid workers from the Afghan Red Crescent were killed in an ambush south-west of Kabul.

United States-led forces in Afghanistan have staged a number of operations recently against suspected members of the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

Police finance

Meanwhile the European Union (EU) has moved to boost security in the country by donating $17.8m towards the national police force.

The funds are to go towards paying police wages and boosting security for elections due to be held in 2004.

The EU's executive body, the European Commission, says it will hand over a further $57.5m providing further reforms to the police are implemented.