Red Cross Offices Attacked in Afghanistan for First Time

Three suicide bombers attacked the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Jalalabad on Wednesday, killing one security guard and wounding another, though all seven Western employees were safely evacuated. Police said a grenade was tossed into the compound, and a gun battle with the security forces followed after the attackers forced their way in. Since the ICRC established an office in Afghanistan more than 30 years ago, it has never been the target of an attack, and was even praised in a Taliban statement last June for its work delivering messages from family members to imprisoned Taliban militants. Wednesday's assault is the second time in a week that international aid workers have been targeted in Afghanistan; on Friday, several staff at the International Organization for Migration were injured in an attack in the capital, Kabul.