Provincial election commission chief killed in Kunduz

KABUL: (MEP) – The provincial Chairman of Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) was killed Wednesday morning in a drive-by shooting in Northern Province of Kunduz, the latest in a string of targeted killings against government officials and local leaders in the war-torn country, said a provincial official, Xinhua reported.

“The head of IEC in Kunduz engineer Mohammad Aman succumbed to his wounds, sustained by handgun shoots near his residence in the provincial capital Kunduz city earlier in the day,” the head of provincial health department Sahd Mukhtar said.

He said the victim received bullets in his chest.

Chief Aman was traveling to office at around 08:15 a.m. (local time) when two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on him. He was shifted to a hospital and the doctors tried to save his live but he died one hour after the shooting in the city, 250 km north of national capital Kabul, a police source Ebadullah Talwar told Xinhua.

The incident came as the country is preparing for the upcoming presidential and provincial councils elections, slated for April 5 next year.

No group has claimed the responsibility for the incident as of the time of filing this report.

However, the Taliban armed outfit, which launched annual rebel offensive in April, has said anyone working for government and the NATO-led troops are legitimate target.

On Monday, a senior policewoman named Nigara lost her live in similar attack in southern Helmand province, 555 km south of Kabul.