Murdered Aid Worker Buried in Kabul

The family of Gayle Williams, the aid worker shot dead by Taliban militants last week, were among the mourners at her funeral yesterday, held at Kabul's British cemetery under heavy security.

The 34-year-old's funeral came a day after the murder of a second Briton, David Giles, and his South African colleague, Jason Bresler. Giles, 42, was gunned down outside the Kabul offices of the courier company DHL. The killings have led to fears Taliban insurgents could target westerners to scare off aid workers and undermine efforts to bring development and security.

Williams's grave was surrounded by flowers and pictures, and mourners sang hymns accompanied by guitars. The funeral was also attended by British deputy head of mission Andrew Patrick and vice-consul Laurence Jenkins.

After the ceremony Williams's mother, Pat, and sister Karen visited President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace.

Those who spoke at the funeral refused to be named because of safety concerns. The leader of the ceremony said: "Although we know and are confident that she is in heaven, yet we grieve and share with Gayle's mother and Gayle's sister and Gayle's family the pain, the almost unbearable pain, that they now feel at the loss of their lovely daughter."

The speaker lashed out at her killers: "It is hard to see this as anything other than a cowardly act that brings shame on the people who carried out this murder. And it brings shame and guilt on those that inspired them to do it."

The Taliban released a statement shortly after the attack claiming responsibility and declaring that Williams had been targeted for preaching Christianity.

One of Williams's colleagues from Serve (Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprises), which has since suspended operations in Afghanistan, said: "She was a joyful and courageous woman. We lost a dear co-worker and we loved her."

A friend told the congregation Williams had not feared death and had frequently discussed the dangers of being in Afghanistan: "If something happens to me I will go to be with the Lord," she had said. "These bodies are only temporary. When I get to heaven I will have a new body."

The mourner said Williams had dreamed of being an RAF pilot and loved "action and adventure", adding: "In a nutshell, she loved freedom. She disliked being restricted and controlled."

The attack on Giles and Bresler was witnessed by Naseer Nadir, who cleans windshields at the adjacent traffic lights.

"I watched as a man pulled up in his pick-up truck. He got out and started arguing with the security guard outside the offices, then he shot the guard three times in the chest," said Nadir.

"The foreigners arrived and he opened fire on them. Then the police attacked and I took cover, so I don't know what happened after that."

An officer with the NDS, Afghanistan's secret police, who asked not to be named, said the man had been a former employee at the DHL office and had come to collect his belongings.

Thirteen arrests, including DHL guards and employees, were made, according to an interior ministry spokesman who said it was not yet clear who was behind the shooting or why it had happened.

A Taliban spokesman said the group was not involved.