Chinese working group leaves for Afghanistan

A working group sent by the Chinese government left here Saturday afternoon for Afghanistan tohelp deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attack that killed 11 Chinese construction workers in northern Afghanistan.

The group, led by Cui Tiankai, Director-General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian Affairs, will contact the Afghan government and the UN agencies in Afghanistan for further cooperation to ensure Chinese citizens' security, according to foreign ministry sources.

The attack happened at around 01:00 a.m. local time (2030 GMT Wednesday) on a construction site 36 km south of the city of Kunduz as some 20 gunmen opened fire at Chinese workers and security guards, leaving 11 Chinese workers dead and five others injured.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders strongly condemned the terrorist attack and instructed the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan to try their utmost to ensure best treatment for the wounded and to properly handle the aftermath of the incident.

Hu also urged the Afghan government and the UN mission in the country to investigate the incident and bring the terrorists to justice, and to ensure safety and security of other Chinese citizens in Afghanistan.

The working team will convey the condolences and sympathy from the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council.

China's Foreign Ministry and the Chinese embassy in Afghanistanhave taken measures to secure all assistance to the victims, and all the injured Chinese workers have been taken to a hospital in Kunduz.

The employer of the workers, the China Railway No.14 SubsidiaryCo.,has dispatched teams to Afghanistan and the victims' hometowns,Jiangxi and Shandong provinces.

Source: Xinhua