November 04, 2008	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 5, 1429

KABUL, Nov 3: Gunmen abducted a French aid worker in the Afghan capital on Monday and shot dead an Afghan man who tried to rescue him, the Kabul government said.

The abducted man was identified by his Paris-based organisation as 32-year-old Dany Egreteau, an education specialist who had arrived in Afghanistan on a visit a week ago.

He had been in a vehicle of another French non-government organisation, Afrane, which had been blocked by the gunmen’s car, and not on foot as reported by Afghan officials, Afrane president Etienne Gille told AFP in Paris.

“Threatened by armed men, Dany Egreteau tried to escape on foot,” said Gille, adding that his organisation had given strict orders to its staff to limit their walking in the capital, where security has plummeted this year.

Egreteau’s organisation, also based in Paris, said he had been staying with Afrane during his visit to Kabul.

An official asked AFP not to reveal the name of the group for security reasons.

There has been a series of kidnappings in the capital, mostly by criminal gangs seeking thousands of dollars in ransom, while three expatriates were shot dead in attacks last month, one in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

The Taliban said, however, it was not involved in the kidnapping of the Frenchman.—AFP