Iconic Japanese aid worker killed in Afghanistan’s east

KABUL, Afghanistan

A Japanese aid worker was killed along with five Afghan colleagues in eastern Afghanistan in an armed attack on Tuesday, officials said on Wednesday.

Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, told Anadolu Agency the incident took place in the provincial capital Jalalabad city, as Tetsu Nakamura and his five colleagues were on their way to the office in a vehicle.

Khogyani said Tetsu succumbed to his wounds as officials were trying to shift him via helicopter to the Bagram Airbase for treatment. The five local Afghans lost their lives on the spot in the attack, he added.

The Taliban have denied any involvement in the attack. Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, wrote on Twitter that the non-governmental organizations operating for reconstruction in the field are not their targets.

In October this year, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had awarded honorary citizenship to Tetsu for his services to the country.

The slain Japanese aid worker was widely respected for his work in promoting irrigation and agriculture in Afghanistan.

He took charge of a Japanese charity -- Peace Medical Service -- in 2008 after the abduction and subsequent killing of his countrymen, Kazuya Ito.

The incident came days after Tadamichi Yamamoto, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, met with Ghani to discuss the safety of UN personnel after a deadly attack in the capital Kabul.

On Nov. 24, a UN staff member from the U.S. was killed and two others were wounded when a blast targeted their vehicle in Kabul.

* Islamuddin Sajid in Islamabad contributed to this story.