ZARANJ (PAN): A government official has been gunned down by the militants in Zaranj, the capital of southeastern Nimroz province, police said on Friday.
Maulvi Ghulam Sarwar Baloch, urban court head, came under armed attack in the city late on Thursday night, Nimroz police chief, Col. Mohammad Musa Rasuli, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Also a former director of haj and religious affair, Baloch was gunned down on his way to the mosque for evening prayers. The attackers riding a motorbike managed to escape, the police chief said.
The religious scholar was killed by the Taliban, Rasuli alleged, saying that police had launched a search operation in the area to catch the assailants.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the shooting in Nimroz, which borders Iran and Pakistan. He said Baloch was killed for supporting the government.
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