Aid group closes Afghan office after attack

Afghan security personnel stand guard near the site of a battle between security forces and Taliban fighters, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. AP

LOS ANGELES — The foreign aid group Partnership in Academics and Development says it has closed its Kabul, Afghanistan, office following a weekend attack by the Taliban that killed the office’s director, his two children and two Afghan citizens.

The group said Monday that Werner Groenewald, a South African who led its charitable activities in Afghanistan, was among those killed.

PAD’s international field director, Allen Goff, tells The Associated Press several other people were injured.

PAD, which has an office in Redlands, California, says the Afghan facility was attacked by gunmen, including one who set off a bomb.

Goff said in an email that the group has been in Afghanistan since 2002, providing educational services.

Recent projects have included providing toilets for schools, teaching English as a second language and offering health programs.