Bodies of Slain Medics Airlifted to Kabul

As details about the volunteer medical workers gunned down by Afghan militants emerge, friends and leaders are coming forward to publicly memorialize them. "We are heartbroken by the loss of these heroic, generous people," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She went on to call the Taliban's insistence that the victims were attempting to convert Afghans to Christianity a "transparent attempt to justify the unjustifiable by making false accusations about their activities." On Sunday, the bodies of the 10 civilian medics—six Americans, two Afghans, a German and a Briton—were flown by helicopter to Kabul, as reports of their selflessness and service surfaced. Among the dead was Karen Woo, 36, a British surgeon due to be married in two weeks, and 51-year-old Colorado dentist Thomas Grams, who was described by friends as a “sweetie pie.” The pair were part of a team providing basic health services to rural parts of the country. Woo, said one friend, “took life by the horns.” Another said she was “a lovely, vibrant, and energetic woman.” She had given up her job at a London clinic to do humanitarian work.