Kabul: The Taliban ambushed and killed the director of Afghanistan's government media center on Friday in the capital of Kabul, the latest killing of a government official just days after an assassination attempt on the country's acting defense minister.
The slaying comes amid Taliban advances and battles for more territory as U.S. and NATO forces complete their final pullout from Afghanistan by the end of the month.
The Taliban have been waging fierce battles for months across Afghanistan, laying siege to provincial capitals in the south and west of the country after capturing district after district and even seizing several key border crossings.
On Friday, in southern Nimroz province, the capital of Zaranj was on the brink of falling to the Taliban, with fierce fighting inside the city and around key infrastructure, said provincial council chief Baz Mohammad Nasir.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Associated Press that the insurgents killed Dawa Khan Menapal, the chief of the Afghan government's press operations for local and foreign media. He had previously been a deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
The assassination took place during weekly Friday prayers, according to the Interior Ministry's deputy spokesman, Said Hamid Rushan. After the shooting, Afghan forces fanned out across the neighborhood of Kabul where Menapal was gunned down while riding in his car.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, later put out a statement claiming responsibility and said that Menapal was killed in a special attack by the mujahedeen, or holy warriors.
The Taliban often target government officials and those they perceive as working for the government or foreign forces, though several recent attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State group. The government most often holds the Taliban responsible.
Earlier this week, a Taliban bombing attack targeted Afghanistan's acting defense minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. The attack in a heavily guarded upscale Kabul neighborhood late Tuesday killed at least eight people and wounded 20. The minister was unharmed.