BFF-79 France’s Sodexo says ‘shocked’ by death of three staff in Afghanistan

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France’s Sodexo says ‘shocked’ by death of three staff in Afghanistan

PARIS, Aug 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – French services giant Sodexo said Thursday
it was “deeply saddened and shocked” by the death of three of its staff in
Afghanistan in as yet unclarified circumstances.

“We are deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the tragic loss of three of
our team members in Kabul, Afghanistan today,” the French group said in a
statement.

“On behalf of the Sodexo community, I want to say that our hearts are with
their families, friends and colleagues,” said chief executive Denis Machuel.

“Sodexo is working closely with the authorities in Kabul and will share
further information when available. We can confirm that the employees were of
Malaysian, Indian and Macedonian nationalities. We are putting in place a
psychological support line for our local employees.”

In Kabul on Thursday, Afghan police said they recovered the bodies of three
foreign nationals who had been abducted and killed, in the latest incident
targeting foreigners in the war-torn capital.

A spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry said that the victims all
worked for a logistics company in Kabul and were from India, Macedonia and
Malaysia.

“At this stage we think it is a terrorist incident,” police spokesman
Hashmat Stanikzai told AFP.

The killings come as Kabul has been rocked by an increasing number of
attacks in recent months as Islamic State (IS) and Taliban insurgents target
security forces and government installations.

BSS/AFP/ARS/2048 hrs