NYTimes -- Red Cross Worker Is Killed in Afghanistan

Gunmen killed a Red Cross worker in southern Afghanistan in an attack by Taliban loyalists opposed to the Afghan government and the international presence in Afghanistan, Red Cross and Afghan officials said today.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was temporarily suspending all operations across the country.

The incident has shaken members of aid organizations working in Afghanistan. Some agencies had pulled their staff members out of the southern region before the war in Iraq began because they feared an increase in violence.

American forces have increased their operations in the southern areas, conducting broad sweeps of mountainous regions where rebels are thought to be hiding. An operation is continuing east of Kandahar near the Pakistani border.

But the killing on Thursday has illustrated how armed groups are still moving unchecked across the region.