Three international aid workers were killed in northwest Badghis Province in Afghanistan by attackers on Wednesday, local officials said.

The aid workers from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), one Belgium female worker, one Dutch and another Swiss male worker, were under attack at around 4:00 pm local time (GMT 8:30 pm) in Qadis district, 60 km east of the provincial capital city of Qala-e-Naw, the governor of Badghis Azizullah Afzali told Xinhua on the phone.

Another two Afghans workers from MSF were also killed in the attack where 200 Afghan National soldiers were patrolling in the province.

The Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies who intensified their hit-and-run activities since last summer have vowed to evict the US-dominated troops by Jihad or holy war from Afghanistan.

An international humanitarian aid organization, the MSF provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 80 countries.

(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2004)