Afghan security service spokesman killed in targeted attack
Zia Wadan, spokesperson for the government security service, the National Public Protection Force (NPPF), and two of his colleagues were killed on Sunday in a new selective attack in Afghanistan, which almost daily targets politicians, activists, intellectuals or journalists.
The attack took place at around 8.30 (4.00 GMT) in the centre of Kabul, when a mine exploded as the vehicle in which Wadan and several colleagues were travelling to work passed by, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian told Efe.
Wadan and two of his companions from the National Public Protection Force were killed in the attack, while another civilian was injured, Arian added.
The NPPF, under the direction of the National Security Council, is responsible for protecting public institutions and non-governmental organisations, in addition to escorting government convoys, the spokesman for the Kabul police, Firdaws Faramarz, told Efe.
In his latest Twitter message, Wadan reported on Saturday on a graduation ceremony for 400 NPPF cadets, which was accompanied by a photograph showing him behind National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib.
So far no armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Home Ministry spokesman did not hesitate, as in other recent targeted attacks, to blame the Taliban directly.
"The recently arrested terrorists (in connection with other selective attacks) clearly stated in their confessions that they were members of the Taliban group," Arian said, describing these "war crimes" as "unjustifiable".
The Taliban, however, have repeatedly denied being behind such attacks, and have directly blamed Afghan security forces for carrying them out in order to fabricate negative propaganda against the insurgents.
This Sunday's attack adds to an unprecedented spiral of selective attacks during 2020 against journalists, activists, politicians or intellectuals in Afghanistan, where shootings or bomb explosions against the victims' vehicles have become an almost daily reality in the country.
The Afghan government recently decided to double the police forces and multiply the security cameras in Kabul in view of this new wave of selective attacks.
US troops in Afghanistan also share the theory that the Taliban are behind these attacks, as part of a new strategy of media actions in the cities without the need for major attacks.
This new attack follows the start this week of the second round of peace negotiations in Doha between the Taliban and members of the Afghan government, talks which began last September and seek to put an end to nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan.
