Yama Siawash’s death prompted immediate condemnation from senior Afghan officials. (Figurative)
Kabul, Afghanistan:
A former Afghan television host and two other civilians were killed in a bomb blast in Kabul on Saturday, police said, in the latest violence to hit the city.
Yama Siawash was killed when a bomb planted in his vehicle exploded near his residence in the Afghan capital, police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz told reporters.
Siawash, who recently joined Afghanistan’s central bank as an advisor, used to be a prominent political and current affairs presenter on Tolo News, the country’s largest private television channel.
No group claimed the attack, but many prominent figures, including journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists, were killed in targeted attacks in Kabul and other cities amid escalating violence in the country.
Siawash’s death prompted immediate condemnation from senior Afghan officials.
“Attacking journalists is aimed at freedom of expression and the death of Siawash is a great loss for our country,” said Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the country’s overall peace and reconciliation process in a statement.
“This is an unforgivable and unforgettable crime.”
Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, also condemned the murder of “one of the most talented (television) presenters” in Afghanistan.
Violence has escalated across Afghanistan in recent months despite the Taliban and the Afghan government holding peace talks to end the country’s long-running conflict.
On Monday, a deadly terrorist raid on Kabul University left 22 dead, many of them students.
ISIS claimed the attack, which came just days after a suicide bombing near an educational center in Kabul, killed 24 people.
That attack was also claimed by ISIS.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
.
