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Afghan officials said a female British aid worker and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped Sunday in the country's northeastern Kunar province.

Kunar police chief Khalilullah Zaiyi said police chased after the kidnappers and were engaged in a brief gunfight close to the site of the ambush, before the men escaped.

Provincial governor Sayed Fazeullah Wahidi said the British woman was working on international aid projects in the province.

Britain's Foreign Office in London said it is investigating reports that a U.K. citizen has disappeared in Afghanistan, but declined to provide further details.

"We can confirm that a British national is missing in Afghanistan. We are working with other international partners to urgently investigate these reports," the ministry said in a statement.

The Briton and her Afghan colleagues are thought to have been captured following an attack on their convoy of two vehicles.


Salon.com

UK aid worker 'MURDERED by captors'

A British aid worker being held hostage in Afghanistan has been MURDERED by captors during an attempt to rescue her, Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

Linda Norgrove, 36, originally from Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, was kidnapped by militants in Kunar province on September 26, alongside three Afghan nationals.

A decision was made on Friday to send troops in to free her "given the danger she was in", Mr Hague said in a statement.

It is thought that no British forces were involved in the rescue attempt.


Press Association