11 Chinese killed in attack in Afghanistan

One of the wounded workers of the Chinese construction company died Thursday morning in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan, bringing the death toll to 11.

A group of about 20 armed men attacked the Chinese workers compound in Jelogir area, 36 km away of Kunduz city at around 01:00 a.m. Thursday morning killing 10 persons on the spot and injuring five others.

Many of the victims, who arrived to Afghanistan on Tuesday, belong to China Railway Shisigu Group, a leading construction company engaged in road construction in post-war Afghanistan.

China's ambassador to Afghanistan Sun Yuxi has forwarded three requests to the Afghan government: provision of medical care to the injured, ensuring security to the construction sites and brining the attackers to justice.

This is the first major casualties China has suffered in the last two years here.

Renovating a hospital in the capital city, rebuilding Kabul-Jalalabad road and reconstruction of Parwan's irrigation canals are three major projects run by the Chinese firms in the post-war Afghanistan.

China strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Chinese construction workers in Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Thursday in Beijing.

Chinese leaders have ordered the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Chinese Embassy to Afghanistan and the departments concerned to deal with problems arising from the attack and assist Afghanistan to ensure safety of other Chinese citizens, Liu made the remarks at the regular press conference.