UK Aid Worker Gunned Down In Kabul

A British charity worker has been gunned down in the Afghan capital - in an assassination reportedly carried out by the Taliban.

Gayle Williams, who worked for Christian charity Serve Afghanistan, was shot dead close to Kabul University.

A dual UK and South African national, she was reportedly a predetermined target by rebels, who are said to have opposed her religious teachings.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC Ms Williams had been fired-on by two men on a motorbike.

It is believed she was on her way to work.

The Taliban has reportedly claimed responsibility for the shooting.

According to reports, two men pulled up along side the woman; one got off the bike and shot her at close range. Both men made off on the motorcycle.

Nearby school children witnessed the murder.

An Interior Ministry Spokesman told the AFP news agency: "Some bullets hit her body and some hit her leg and when police got there she was dead."

Mr Williams is not the first foreigner attacked by armed gun men in the country's capital.

However, this recent attack has heightened security fears for those working in Afghanistan, according to reports.

Three assassinations have been carried out in the past week in the southern city of Kandahar.

Men on motorbikes are reported to have executed all the attacks.

In August, Taliban insurgents ambushed three female aid workers, and their driver, just outside Kabul.

All four were shot dead in the bloodiest single attack on foreign humanitarian workers in Afghanistan in recent years.

Serve Afghanistan is a UK registered charity whose overseas staff are volunteers. It focuses on education and training for people with disabilities.

(PR/JM)