Nobody Is Responsible For Shooting Journalists In Car Attack In Afghanistan

JAKARTA - An Afghan journalist was shot dead in a car attack in the central province of Ghor, the fifth professional media actor killed in the country in the past two months, according to an official report on Saturday, January 2.

Bismellah Adel Aimaq (28), news director for radio station Sada-e-Ghor, was killed near the town of Firoz Koh, which is the capital of Ghor, on Friday, January 1.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the killings. "He (Bismellah) is 28 years old, and started working with Radio Sada-e-Ghor since 2015, said deputy governor of Ghor, Habibollah Radmanesh.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the killings and his government is committed to supporting and promoting freedom of expression.

"The Taliban and other terrorist groups cannot silence the legitimate voices of journalists and the media by carrying out such attacks," he said in a tweet on Twitter. A civil society activist was also killed by unknown militia on the same day.

Killings targeting journalists, government officials and rights activists have increased rapidly in recent months as violence has spiked in Afghanistan despite ongoing discussions regarding peace between the government and the Taliban. The Taliban said in December it was not involved in the killing of media perpetrators.