KABUL: (MEP) – A prayer leader was killed Monday morning in a shooting in Kandahar city, the provincial capital of southern Afghan province of Kandahar, a source said.
“Unknown armed men using handguns shot dead the leader named Mulawi Atta Mohammad in Topkhana area of 1st police district at around 8:00 a.m. (local time). The victim died on the spot,” the provincial government spokesman Jawid Faisal told Xinhua.
He said the attackers fled the scene shortly after the attack and police launched a pursuit operation against the fleeing men, Xinhua reported.
No group has claimed the responsibility for the incident so far. Kandahar is notorious for growing poppy and is a known Taliban hotbed.
Recently, Afghan officials and pro-government figures have been repeatedly targeted by the militants as the Taliban insurgents intensified activities against government interest across the country.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has recently said that more than 1,300 civilians were killed and over 2,500 others injured in Afghanistan from January to June this year.
Out of total casualties in the first half of the year, up to 312 civilians were killed and 131 were wounded in targeted killings across the county.
The civilians perceived to be supporting government, civilian government employees, religious leaders, tribal elders and persons involved in peace and reconciliation efforts came under attack in targeted killings in the central Asian country.
