AFGHANISTAN ATTACKS RISE: 19 AID WORKERS KILLED

Afghanistan attacks on the rise

A suicide bomb at the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul killed 60

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Attacks by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have hit record highs this year with hundreds of civilians killed, including 19 aid workers.The violence is spreading insecurity which has hampered relief work, aid groups said.

Unrest had spread to once stable areas and welfare agencies were forced to scale back aid delivery even as drought and food price hikes put millions of people in difficulty, the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (Acbar) said on Friday.

"So far this year the number of insurgent attacks, bombings and other violent incidents is up by approximately 50 per cent on the same period last year," said Acbar, a grouping of about 100 Afghan and international non-governmental organisations.

Anja Debeer, co-ordinator of Acbar in Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that the attacks had "greatly affected" the aid group's capability to operate and aid workers were being subjected to threats and kidnappings.

"Access to people in the greatest need of aid becomes more and more limited and so we will be less effective and efficient," she said.