KABUL — The bodies of six American aid workers ambushed and killed along with four other people in northeastern Afghanistan last week will be flown to the United States for autopsies, the head of the relief agency said Monday, even though some relatives want the bodies buried in Afghanistan, where the workers had dedicated their lives.
The autopsies will be conducted by the FBI as part of the investigation into the killings.
Dirk Frans, executive director of the International Assistance Mission, confirmed at a news conference the names of the 10 team members killed on a mission to provide health care for poor Afghans in remote Badakhshan province.
In addition to leader Tom Little, a New York optometrist, the other Americans were dentist Tom Grams, 51, of Durango; aid worker Dan Terry, 63, of Wisconsin; translator Cheryl Beckett, 32, of Knoxville, Tenn.; videographer Brian Carderelli of Harrisonburg, Va.; and Mennonite nurse Glen Lapp of Lancaster, Pa.
Also killed were Karen Woo of the United Kingdom; German Daniela Beyer, 35; and two Afghans — Mahram Ali, 50, and Jawed, 24, who went by one name — the group said.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack Thursday, alleging that members of the group were acting as spies and missionaries. But authorities have not ruled out that unaffiliated thieves might have carried out the killings.
Frans repeated denials the volunteers from the International Assistance Mission, a nonprofit, Christian charitable organization with a long history of service in Afghanistan, were proselytizing or working for the government.
Frans noted that the loss of experienced workers will set back some of the services the groups offers.
