Aid workers killed in Afghanistan

Three women and a man working for the ActionAid charity have been shot dead in Afghanistan, officials say.

The aid workers - all believed to be Afghan citizens - were killed in Mingajik district in the northern province of Jowzjan.

They were reportedly attacked in their vehicle by gunmen riding motorcycles.

Aid teams are often targeted in attacks blamed on the Taleban militia - but incidents such as these are relatively rare in Afghanistan's calmer north.

Earlier this month, two Afghan employees of the UN's children's charity, Unicef, were killed in a rocket attack as they were driving on the road from Herat, in the west, to Kandahar in the south-east.

In June 2004, five people working for international relief agency, Medecins sans Frontieres, were killed in the north-western province of Badghis.

Taleban threat

ActionAid has confirmed its staff were attacked.

The charity has been working to bring modern healthcare to remote Afghan villages.

A person claiming to be a spokesman for the Taleban telephoned the BBC on Monday warning of attacks in the north of the country.

Troops from Sweden, operating under Nato command, have a base in Jowzjan province.

The Taleban, which ruled Afghanistan until a US-led invasion in 2001, has vowed to attack foreign troops and those it regards as their collaborators.

Hundreds of people have died in recent clashes between Taleban militants and Afghan security forces, backed by US-led troops.