Afghan officials say insurgents have shot and killed 12 civilians, including six aid workers working on government projects, in two separate incidents.
Jamel Danish, media adviser for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation, says the bodies of six people were found today in the Gulran district of western Herat province.
He says the six were kidnapped on Sunday by the Taliban and killed after negotiations failed. Danish says five worked for an international non-governmental organisation and one worked for the ministry.
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The ministry has programmes that seek to improve the lives of Afghans from remote regions.
Rohullah Samon, spokesman for eastern Paktia province, said six unidentified civilians were found today by a roadside. He had no other details.
The Taliban regularly target government employees.