China was shocked and angry about the terrorist attack against Chinese workers in Afghanistan, said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo Thursday in a phone conversation with Afghan Vice Foreign Minister Zalmay Aziz.  

More than 20 gunmen raided a Chinese construction site in northern Afghanistan early Thursday, and 11 Chinese workers have so far been confirmed killed and four others wounded.

Chinese leaders attached great importance to the tragedy, strongly condemning the atrocious terrorist activities, said Dai.

Dai said the Chinese leaders instructed the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan to work closely with the Afghan government and the UN assistance team to put all their strength into rescuing the injured workers and properly deal with the remaining problems.

The Chinese side asked the Afghan government to take all measures possible to help rescue the injured workers, ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel and their property in the country, and meanwhile launch an investigation into the incident and bring the murderers to justice, Dai said.

Aziz condemned the attacks and expressed condolences to the victims, saying the Afghan leaders attached great importance to the incident, and had instructed relevant departments to hunt down and severely punish the murderers.

The Afghan side will cooperate well with the Chinese side in rescuing the injured and dealing with the aftermath, and take all measures to guarantee the safety of Chinese personnel in Afghanistan, Aziz said.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) also expressed deep concern about the attack, saying that it will take any measures necessary to help properly handle the aftermath work.

According to the MOC, the attacked site belongs to a road reconstruction project in Afghanistan, which was a Word Bank-funded one with a total contractual volume of US$22.45 million.

The Ministry of Commerce said that 123 Chinese workers from the victims' company were working on the site.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2004)