On August 7, news broke that in Afghanistan, ten members of a medical team — six Americans, a Briton, a German and four Afghans — were shot and killed by militants as they were returning home from a remote aid mission, reported the New York Times. The attack, the largest massacre in years of aid workers in Afghanistan, offered chilling evidence of the increasing insecurity in the northern part of the country and added to fears that the insurgency has turned even more vicious in recent months. Among those killed was Dr. Karen Woo, a 36-year-old surgeon from London who worked for the aid organization Bridge Afghanistan. On her blog, she wrote, “The expedition will require a lot of physical and mental resolve and will not be without risk but ultimately, I believe that the provision of medical treatment is of fundamental importance and that the effort is worth it in order to assist those that need it most.”
