The Taliban shot to death the head of the Afghan government's media information center Friday at a mosque in the capital, the Interior Ministry said, days after warning they would target senior administration officials in retaliation for increased airstrikes.
"Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan," ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said of the death of Dawa Khan Meenapal.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the death, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid sending a message to media saying, "He was killed in a special attack carried out by mujahedeen."
Meenapal previously worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Afghan Service, winning an award for his bravery in 2010. During his time with the network, Taliban militants kidnapped Meenapal and held him for three days.
“We mourn with our colleagues at RFE/RL and with the people of Afghanistan," Kelu Chao, the acting head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees RFE/RL and VOA, said in a statement Friday.
Fighting in Afghanistan's long-running conflict has intensified since May, when foreign forces began the final stage of a withdrawal due to be completed later this month.
The Taliban already control large portions of the countryside and are now challenging Afghan government forces in several large cities.
The militants warned Wednesday of more attacks targeting Afghan government leaders, a day after the defense minister escaped an assassination attempt.
The bomb-and-gun attack Tuesday night on Defense Minister Bismillah Mohammadi brought the war to the capital for the first time in months.
The Afghan and U.S. militaries have stepped up airstrikes in their fight against the insurgents in a string of cities, and the Taliban said Wednesday that the Kabul raid was their response.
Some information for this report came from Voice of America.
