Taliban announce killing of election official on Twitter
Taliban insurgents have killed an Afghan election official, and in an apparent first the group's spokesman has announced the assassination on Twitter. It was the first attack in years by the insurgents against an official of the Independent Election Commission, officials at the agency said.
Taliban insurgents have killed an Afghan election official, and in an apparent first the group's spokesman has announced the assassination on Twitter.
It was the first attack in years by the insurgents against an official of the Independent Election Commission, officials at the agency said.
Police in Kunduz province said that two gunmen riding on a motorcycle opened fire on Mohammad Amanullah, the head of the Kunduz office of the commission, on Wednesday morning. He died later in hospital.
Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban, soon issued a tweet in the local dialect of Dari boasting of the attack.
"At 9 am this morning, Engineer Mohammad Aman head of Kunduz Independent Election Commission was killed by our Mujahedeen in Takharistan area of Kunduz city," the Taliban tweet read, using a shortened version of the victim's name.
A spokesman for the election commission confirmed the killing but said that it was too early to conclude who was behind Amanullah's killing.
"We will wait until the investigation is completed by the security organs and then say who was behind this attack," said Noor Ahmad Noor. "He was a noble person and a good colleague."
Last March, the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, denounced the planned April 2014 elections, calling them "a waste of time, nothing more".
