Islamic Information Center condemns fatal attack on Christian charity workers in Afghanistan

(WASHINGTON DC—AUGUST 9, 2010)  The Islamic Information Center (IIC) vehemently condemns the fatal attack on Christian charity workers in Afghanistan this weekend. Taliban fighters ambushed and killed a 10-member medical team, including six Americans, as they were returning from a trip to a remote northern area to provide eye care to rural villagers, their aid organization and local officials said this past Saturday.

The police chief in Badakhshan, Gen. Agha Nur Kamtuz, said villagers told police that the International Assistance Mission workers had been in the area for about two weeks, moving between there and neighboring Nuristan province. Heavy fighting has been taking place over the last month in parts of Nuristan between insurgents and Afghan security forces backed by Western troops. “People told them it was dangerous,” Kamtuz said. “They said they were doctors … and no one had anything against them.”

Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said insurgents encountered the group in the Kiran Munjan district of Badakhshan and tried to arrest them on suspicion of spying. “But they tried to escape, then mujahedeen attacked and killed all of them on the spot,” he said by telephone. The International Assistance Mission, which has been working in Afghanistan since 1966, describes itself as a charitable nonprofit Christian organization. One of its major projects is a chain of eye hospitals and clinics. In a statement posted on its website, the group condemned “this senseless killing of people who have done nothing but serve the poor.”

IIC condemns all types of terrorism, and believes that no legitimate purpose can be accomplished by the harming of innocent civilians.  It is the basic right of every individual to live in peace and harmony, and this right is being violated by the Taliban forces within Afghanistan’s own borders.

The Islamic Information Center, under the guidance of Imam Syed Naqvi, works to bring understanding among people of all faiths and background in an attempt to build bridges for the future to prevent hate crimes through education and tolerance. IIC also works to correct any misinformation about matters relating to the Holy Religion of Islam.

http://www.islamicinformationcenter.org