Guwahati News Desk: The head of the Afghan government’s media information centre, Dawa Khan Menapal, was shot dead by the Taliban on Friday.
The event took place at a mosque in the capital, Kabul, days after the Taliban warned the Afghan government that they would target senior administration officials in retaliation for the increased number of air strikes.
The assassination of one of the government’s leading voices follows another bloody day of fighting in Afghanistan as the war spills into Kabul for the first time in months.
It also comes hours before the UN Security Council meets in New York to discuss the conflict.
The interior ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said, “Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan.”
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the death, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid sending a message to media saying “he was killed in a special attack carried out by mujahidin”.
The long-running conflicts in Afghanistan has intensified since May, when the foreign forces began the final stage of their withdrawal, that is due to be completed later this month.
The Taliban are already in control of large portions of the countryside, and are now challenging the Afghan government forces in several large cities.
The most recent attack by the militants this week include of the bomb-and-gun attack on Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, government forces continue to hit Taliban positions with air strikes and commando raids. Infact, the defence ministry boasted on Friday of eliminating more than 400 insurgents in the past 24 hours.
Photo | Reuters