Kabul - A warehouse run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was destroyed on Tuesday in a United States air raid on the Afghan capital Kabul, seriously injuring an Afghan staff member, an ICRC official said.

"I can confirm that a warehouse was hit at 1.30pm (0900 GMT) this afternoon and one person has been injured, one of the local staff," ICRC Head of delegation for Afghanistan Robert Monin said.

"There is no question about the ICRC's activities... Military targets should be hit but civilian targets should not be hit."

Monin said the warehouse, in a northern part of Kabul, was full of relief goods such as blankets, shelter materials and possibly food, but he could not give details on the quantities.

'It was not a legitimate target, that's clear'

"It was on fire but from our information it is under control now," he said.

An official complaint had been lodged with the US embassy in Pakistan and through the ICRC headquarters in Geneva, he said.

"They are taking note," Monin said, referring to the response from the United States.

ICRC spokeswoman Macarena Aguilar Rodriguez said in Geneva the warehouse was marked with the ICRC's Red Cross emblem.

"It was not a legitimate target, that's clear," she said.

US-led forces have been bombing Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia for its refusal to hand over alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden, the Saudi dissident blamed for the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

The ICRC warehouse is the second aid facility to be destroyed since the bombings began on October 11.

A demining agency linked to the United Nations was destroyed by a US cruise missile lastweek, killing four Afghan guards. - Sapa-AFP