"During the siege, our Afghan drivers and staff actually ran towards the building in an effort to assist the military assault against the Taliban," Kuhn wrote. "When asked by police as to ‘why’ they were running in the wrong direction, they replied, 'Roots of Peace has been our family for the past 10 years, we are defending our own.' "

Roots of Peace has worked in Afghanistan since 2003 and currently employs 350 Afghans working in all 34 provinces. In her statement, Kuhn estimated that the nonprofit has removed about 10 million land mines and replaced them with agricultural crops such as grapes and raisins, creating an export market.

Kuhn praised Sharif Osmani, the nonprofit's country director in Afghanistan, for coordinating the security response team and operating "with professionalism amid the chaos."

"We trusted the Afghans, and they clearly demonstrated their leadership," Kuhn said.

A New York Times story reported that while the gun battle was taking place at Roots of Peace, police rescued two dozen foreigners, including at least five young Western children, an extremely unusual sight in Kabul these days. A 16-year-old Afghan girl, not connected to Roots of Peace, was killed in the assault.

"The shootout was the latest in a series of deadly attacks on foreign journalists, aid workers and visitors since January, in the midst of heavy security for the Afghan presidential election campaign," the Times said.

Kuhn told KQED that, despite the attack, Roots of Peace is still committed to its mission in Afghanistan.

The Afghan election will be held this Saturday, April 5.

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San Rafael's Roots of Peace Lauds Afghan Security Guards After Attack on Kabul Office