5 Afghan aid workers among 21 killed

The suspected Taliban guerrillas were killed Monday by US warplanes that bombed their hideout in Uruzgan province, which has long been a hotbed of militant activity, local Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan said Wednesday.

US military spokeswoman Sgt. Marina Evans confirmed the attack and said "several of the enemy had been killed."

The six police were killed by suspected Taliban who ambushed their convoy in the same area a day later, Khan said. One officer was still missing after the attack and feared dead. Reinforcements have been rushed to the area "to hunt down the Taliban," he said.

The attack on the medical workers happened Wednesday near Kandahar city, a former Taliban stronghold, said doctor Abdul Qadir, director of UN and US-sponsored Afghan Help Development Services, a local aid group that employed the five.

Gunmen opened fire on their vehicle as they drove through the desert. Two of the five dead were doctors. Three other medical workers in the vehicle were wounded, Qadir said. The eight were returning to Kandahar after treating refugees in a nearby camp.

Karzai made his comments about the violence in a press conference with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.