UN Security Council begins meeting on Afghanistan

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday kicked off a meeting on Afghanistan following a Wednesday attack that killed at least five UN staff members in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the closed-door meeting of the 15-nation Security Council, and he is expected to speak to the press after the Council meeting, UN officials said here.

"It's a joint effort of trying to find solutions to the security issues we confront not only in Afghanistan, but also elsewhere," Michele Montas, the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told reporters.

Asked whether it is possible that the Nov. 7 presidential run-off election in Afghanistan could be put off, Montas said, "As far as I know, no."

The closed meeting could touch on the security issue in Afghanistan, one day after the deadly raid in Kabul, and the precarious security situation in Pakistan would also be discussed, UN diplomats said here.

"I condemn this shocking and shameless act, and the terrorists who committed this crime," Ban told a press conference on Wednesday. "It is unjustifiable by any standard."

"If any thing, this incident should remind us how tough our job is," he said. "Our people work, often selflessly, in the most dangerous places in the world."

Five UN staff were killed and nine wounded after militants attacked a UN guest house in Kabul on Wednesday morning. At least25 UN staff members were there, including 17 women and men of the UN Development Program's election team, Ban said.

"We will, of course, review our security procedures, as we do regularly for the Afghanistan mission as a whole," he said. "We will take all necessary measures to protect our staff."