Kabul: At least six Afghan employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were killed on Wednesday by suspected Islamic State gunmen in northern Afghanistan, officials said. A team of three drivers and five field officers was on its way to deliver livestock materials to an area in Jawzjan province when "unknown armed men" attacked it, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said. Reuters reports that the area has been pounded by snowstorms in recent days. "It is not yet clear who carried out the attack or why," the Red Cross said in a statement. The provincial police chief, Rahmatullah Turkistani, tells The Associated Press that the attack "was likely carried out by Islamic State militants, who have a presence in the area." The news service adds that no group has claimed responsibility for the attack and that the Taliban says it was not involved. Glass described the assault as the "worst incident" for ICRC in 16 years in Afghanistan. He says its neutrality "is widely respected, with rare exceptions. According to Thomas Glass, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, the aid group's "activities are on hold" until next Tuesday or possibly longer. "We need to understand more clearly what happened," ICRC Director of Operations Dominik Stillhart tells the BBC. "But... this is one of the most critical humanitarian contexts and we will definitely do everything to continue our operations there." pic.twitter.com/PN22EdTE7D — ICRC (@ICRC) February 8, 2017 ICRC President Peter Maurer,said, "We condemn in the strongest possible terms what appears to be a deliberate attack on our staff. He adds: "This is a huge tragedy. We're in shock." Greg reports that "civilian casualties have been on the rise throughout Afghanistan, and this shooting came just a day after a suicide bomber struck at the Supreme Court in Kabul, killing at least 20."
Six Afghan Red Cross workers are shot dead by suspected ISIL militants in the northern Jowzjan Province. Two other Red Cross workers are reportedly abducted.