KABUL - Two foreign nationals, believed to be Westerners, and an Afghan were killed in a shoot-out in broad daylight in central Kabul on Saturday, the city's deputy police chief said. It was unclear what prompted the exchange of fire outside the offices of the international courier company DHL, Alishah Ahmadzai said.| Umm, just a guess, but .. sudden jihadi syndrome? |
A police investigator said two of the dead were killed in a four-wheeled drive vehicle just outside the office of the courier company. They were killed just after they left the office and got into the vehicle, another witness said. At least one of the dead foreigners was an employee of DHL, a man who said he was a friend told AFP.
The vehicle was covered in a large tarpaulin as police removed the bodies and drove them away, an AFP reporter said. One of the bodies had been slumped in the front seat of the vehicle, the reporter said. Blood was pooled just outside as well as in the front and back seats, and the front windows were blown out, he said.
It was the second fatal shooting in the city since a British South African aid worker was shot dead on Monday while she was walking to work.
The extremist Taliban movement, waging an insurgency against the government of President Hamid Karzai, claimed responsibility for the killing but authorities have not confirmed they were involved.