Taliban militants on Friday assassinated Dawa Khan Minapal, the head of Afghanistan government media department, Afghan officials say.
Minapal had also served as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman.
The killing occurred at a mosque in Kabul, days after Taliban warned that senior officials would be targeted. The Taliban’s action is believed to be a retaliation for increased air strikes.
Conflict is deepening in the South Asian country of Afghanistan.
“Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan,” interior ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) this week said it was deeply concerned about the safety of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Afghanistan cities.
The UN Security Council will hold an open meeting today (Friday) on the deteriorating situation in the country.
The 2021 Taliban offensive is an ongoing military offensive by the Taliban and allied militant groups, including al-Qaeda, against the government of Afghanistan and its allies that began on 1 May 2021, simultaneous with the withdrawal of most US troops from Afghanistan.
As of 15 July 2021, over a third of Afghanistan’s 421 districts were controlled by the Taliban, and by 21 July, half of Afghanistan was under Taliban control.
