Dawa Khan Menapal was popular in Kabul’s media community and was reportedly known for shaming the Taliban on social media. His murder is being viewed as an act of revenge which the Taliban, as per sources, was waiting to exact for some time now.
Dawa Khan Menapal, head of Afghan govt media dept. killed by Taliban (Reuters file photo)
The Taliban has assassinated the head of the Afghan government’s media information centre, today, admitting that it was a special attack carried out by Mujahideen to kill the victim.
The deceased Dawa Khan Menapal was killed near a mosque in the capital, just days after warnings from the Taliban that they would target senior administration figures in retaliation for increased airstrikes.
The interior ministry spokesperson Mirwais Stanikzai, expressed his condolences at the death of the Afghan government official and said “Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan,”. Former presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said he was “utterly shocked and devastated” and added, “We lost another great soul,”.
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The murder of Dawa Khan comes a day after the defence minister Bismillah Mohammadi escaped an assassination attempt in a bomb-and-gun attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the death of Khan, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid sending a message to media saying “he was killed in a special attack carried out by mujahideen”.
Menapal was popular in Kabul’s media community and was reportedly known for shaming the Taliban on social media. His murder is being viewed as an act of revenge which the Taliban, as per sources, was waiting to exact for some time now.
Meanwhile, at least 40 Taliban militants have been killed today and security operations backed by fighter jets are underway in Shiberghan city, the capital of Afghanistan’s Jawzjan province, its Army said in a statement.
The Afghan and US militaries have stepped up airstrikes in their fight against the insurgents in a string of cities. The Taliban has claimed that Tuesday’s Kabul raid was their response to the increased air raids on them.
Taliban militants, according to officials and residents of Shiberghan, entered the city today morning leading to a gun battle with the security forces. The Taliban outfit has intensified activities and overrun around 200 districts including some in Jawzjan since early May.
The group has been attempting to capture big cities including Herat, Lashkar Gah, Shiberghan and Maimana.
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