Taliban assassinates top Afghan media officer and government spokesperson in Kabul

The Taliban has claimed responsibility after gunmen shot and killed the top media officer of the Afghanistan government and spokesperson for president Ashraf Ghani, Dawa Khan Menapal.

Afghanistan’s interior ministry had told local media earlier on Friday that Menapal, who was the head of the Government Media and Information Centre (GMIC), was killed by unidentified gunmen, though Taliban involvement was heavily suspected.

Later the Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced in a statement that the militant group was taking responsibility for his killing. Mujahid, in his statement in the local language, wrote Menapal “was killed in a special attack by the Mojahedin and was punished for his actions”.

He was killed on Darulaman Road in Kabul city.

Mujahid did not specify what they held Menapal accountable for, but Menapal had naturally been a vocal critic of the Taliban and welcomed protests against the group in areas it controls. In tweets posted just two days before his death, he could be seen lending his support for chants of “Allahu Akbar” by Afghans in defiance against the Taliban.

The incident is one of the latest in a series of attacks against journalists and government officials in Afghanistan as the Taliban strengthens its stronghold on its expanding territories.

Last week the comedian Khasha Zwan was killed by Taliban militants who kidnapped him up in a car and recorded a video abusing and assaulting him before shooting him. A few weeks ago the award-winning Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed while reporting on missions against the Taliban by the Afghan Special Forces.

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