(26.12.2007) Sources in Dublin said he was the deputy head of the EU mission in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and was highly regarded in diplomatic circles for his knowledge of the region.

Both Semple and Patterson are said to have years of experience in Afghanistan, speaking the local languages and understanding the country‘s complex tribal structures. They had travelled to the town of Musa Qala in the volatile southern province of Helmand on Monday, said a spokesman for the UN mission in Afghanistan, Aleem Siddique.