Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Two aid workers killed in Afghanistan had a deep commitment to the country, and knew the risks associated with humanitarian work there, friends and family of the victims' said Saturday. 

The aid workers were said to be among 10 members of a medical team who were shot and killed Thursday by gunmen in Badakhshan, a remote northeastern region of the country. 

Among the dead were six Americans, two Afghans, a Briton and a German, said Dirk Frans, director of International Assistance Mission. He said two other Afghans on the team are alive. 

Aqa Nwor Kentoz, the police chief in the province, says the gunmen stopped the group on the road, took their belongings and shot them one by one. An Afghan was released because he was reciting excerpts from the Quran, Kentoz said. 

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Libby Little, the wife of team leader Tom Little, confirmed to CNN that her husband was among the six Americans killed. 

Speaking from her home in Delmar, New York, Little said she knew the worst had happened when she didn't hear from her husband after 24 hours. She described a system they established years ago -- he would give her a short, 30-second call every 12 hours to let her know he was OK. When two cycles went by without a call from her husband, she said she knew something was wrong. 

Frans would not confirm Little's death, only acknowledging Little was the leader of the medical team. 
Was he married?
Libby Little, the wife of team leader Tom Little, confirmed to CNN that her husband was among the six Americans killed. 
