Bomb victim was due home in days (From Salisbury Journal)

Bomb victim was due home in days

1:09pm Wednesday 19th September 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

A woman who was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan was due to return home this week.

Jeni Ayris, 46, who was born in South Africa but held a British passport, died in the blast in the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday, when a female insurgent drove a car full of explosives into a minibus carrying mainly foreign workers.

Her friend, Kirsten Bennett, from the Isle of Mull, said Ms Ayris was expected to return to Edinburgh this weekend.

Ms Ayris worked as a customer relations manager for South African aviation company ACS/BalmOral.

In a statement, the firm said: "ACS/BalmOral is deeply saddened by the loss of the lives of some of our staff in Kabul, Afghanistan, due to a suicide bombing attack that occurred on September 18.

"We are in the process of notifying the next of kin and our main focus now remains with the families of the innocent victims who tragically lost their lives. Our prayers and thoughts are with them and all our staff remaining in Kabul."

Ms Ayris lived in the Morningside area of the Scottish capital for about 17 years. She was born in the Durban region of South Africa, but left the country many years ago and had dual citizenship with the UK.

Ms Ayris ran a South Africa- themed cafe in the Tollcross area of Edinburgh, Ndebele, for about a decade. Her sister Patricia also lives in Edinburgh and is said to be her only family.

Michael Hodgson, 39, who is from the Netherlands, said he was a close friend of Ms Ayris.

"Jeni Ayris was a warm, kind and generous person with an everyday objective of helping everyone she met," he said. "She had a positive boundless energy which rubbed off on everyone, making her loss all the more hurtful."