Afghan Taliban kill head of government media department

The Taliban has shot and killed the director of Afghanistan’s Government Information Media Center, the latest killing of a government official and one that comes just days after an assassination attempt on the acting defense minister

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Taliban shot and killed the director of Afghanistan's Government Information Media Center on Friday, the latest killing of a government official and one that comes just days after an assassination attempt on the acting defense minister. The assassination comes as Taliban wage fierce battles across the country laying siege to provincial capitals in the south and west of the country. In southwestern Nimroz , the capital Zaranj was on the precipice of collapse with fierce fighting inside the city around key infrastructure, said provincial council chief Baz Mohammad Nasir. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Associated Press that the groups' fighters had killed Dawa Khan Menapal, who ran the government's press operations for the local and foreign media. Menapal had previously been a deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani In a statement Mujahid put out later, he said Menapal "was killed in a special attack of Mujahideen" and was "punished for his deeds.”