Suspected Taliban Fighters Attack Government Building, Killing 7

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan —  About 40 suspected Taliban fighters shot up a government office early Thursday in southern Afghanistan, killing six soldiers and a driver for a U.S. aid organization, all Afghans, a government official said.

The violence took place in Deshu district, about 110 miles south of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, said Dad Mohammed Khan, provincial intelligence chief.

The attackers drove up in four vehicles, entered the office and opened fire, Khan said. The building housed Afghans working for Mercy Corps, which is conducting an agricultural survey in the region.

The Taliban has been waging a guerrilla war in the south and east of Afghanistan for more than a year. It has warned Afghans not to work for international aid organizations or for the government of President Hamid Karzai.