An Afghan garbage collector take rest at a rubbish dumping site. The bodies of five aid workers have been found in the south of the country. Photograph: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images
The bullet-ridden bodies of five aid workers have been found, weeks after they were abducted by armed gunmen in the south of Afghanistan.
The group of Afghan workers for Save the Children was snatched by armed gunmen in Trinkot, capital of the Uruzgan province, on 3 March, according to the UN.
A spokesman for the provincial governor blamed the Taliban for their deaths after their bodies were found on Friday, saying the militant group had demanded a prisoner exchange.
The Taliban had kidnapped the aid workers and were demanding the release of some of their colleagues in government custody, Dost Mohammad Nayab told AFP on Saturday.
After their demand was rejected, they shot and killed the aid workers. We found their bodies in Chanarto district yesterday.
Zubaida Akbar, a senior communication officer with Save the Children in Afghanistan, confirmed the deaths, which have not been claimed by any group.
Five of our staff members were abducted more than five weeks ago. Tragically we have learned that they have been killed, she said, declining to give further details.
Aid workers, particularly those working for non-government organisations, have repeatedly come under fire since the US-led invasion to topple the Taliban regime in late 2001.
Afghanistan was the most dangerous place for relief staff in the world in 2013, with 81 killed, according to consultancy Humanitarian Outcomes, while the UN said a further 57 lost their lives last year.
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Afghanistan: bodies of five abducted aid workers found