Gunman attacks German development project in eastern Afghanistan, kills 1

Gunman attacks aid project in Afghanistan, kills 1

KABUL, Afghanistan — A gunman attacked a group of German and Afghan aid workers inspecting a high school under renovation in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, killing one person and wounding several others, said officials.

One of those wounded in the attack in Khost province was a German citizen, said a spokesman for the German Foreign Office, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department policy. The person who was killed was Afghan.

The attacker opened fire from a vehicle as he approached the site in Khost City and then fled to a nearby house, where he engaged police in a gunbattle that was ongoing Friday evening, said acting provincial Gov. Taher Khan Sabari.

A total of three people were wounded in the initial attack, including the German and two Afghans, said the German spokesman and a local police official, Gulam Mohammad.

The Foreign Office did not identify the German aid organization involved in renovating the school.

Several others were wounded in the gunbattle that followed the initial assault.

Local hospital official Amir Pacha said a total of nine people were being treated for injuries, including three police. He could not say which had been wounded in the initial attack versus the subsequent gunbattle.

Khost is located along the volatile border with Pakistan and is a stronghold of the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network.

In December, a Jordanian suicide bomber attacked a remote CIA base in Khost, killing seven of the agency’s employees.