Two killed as militants attack Kabul guest house

A German aid worker and an Afghan guard were killed and a Finnish woman kidnapped as gunmen stormed an international guest house in central Kabul, officials said yesterday.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack late Saturday on the guest house run by Swedish charity Operation Mercy.

In further violence roiling the country, 20 Afghan policemen were killed early yesterday when Taliban fighters stormed their outposts in the southern province of Zabul, as the insurgents escalate their annual spring offensive.

The interior ministry confirmed the brazen Kabul attack, the latest in a series of assaults on aid workers in Afghanistan.

"A Finnish lady was kidnapped from police district (three) last night at 11.30. A German lady and an Afghan guard were killed," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said on Twitter.

Authorities in Helsinki confirmed that a Finnish citizen had been kidnapped, adding that they were investigating the incident in coordination with their counterparts in Kabul.

"At the moment, the identity of the kidnappers in not known. Finland urges immediate release of the kidnapped person," the Finnish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Operation Mercy's director Scott Breslin told Swedish news agency TT that he was holding a crisis meeting over the incident.

Operation Mercy works with local Afghan communities in areas such as reducing infant mortality and women's empowerment.

The kidnapping of foreigners has been on the rise, but the threat of abductions is even greater for Afghans.

Kabul is plagued by criminal gangs who stage abductions for ransom, often targeting foreigners and wealthy locals, and sometimes handing them over to insurgent groups.