Afghan government’s top media and information officer Dawa Khan Minapal has been assassinated by Taliban fighters in the capital, Kabul, on Friday, confirmed the Taliban’s spokesperson and Afghan officials.
Taliban had threatened to target senior administration officials in retaliation for increased air raids, days before Dawa Khan was killed.
Interior ministry spokesperson Mirwais Stankzai said, ”Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan,”
“He was well known to Afghan journalists, a member of the inner circle of President Ghani, and our understanding is that he left home to go for Friday prayers and was killed,” said Al Jazeera’s James Bays reporting from Kabul.
The Taliban government was toppled by the US-led forces in 2001. Since the foreign forces announced their withdrawal, after 20 years of war, in 2021, the Taliban has stepped up its campaign to defeat the western-backed government.
