Radio journalist killed in bomb attack on military convoy

Reporters Without Borders voiced regret today at the death of a radio journalist known as Maiwand in a bomb attack on a military convoy in Do Saraka in the southeastern province of Khost on 22 October. He was the producer of a cultural programme on local radio station Da Solah Pigham (“Message of Peace”). “Maiwand is the first journalist to be killed in Afghanistan in clashes between the Taliban and government forces since the fall of Mullah Omar's regime at the of 2001,” the press freedom organisation said. “There has been an increase in deadly attacks on the authorities and security forces in recent months, especially in the east and south, which continue to be high-risk zones for both local and foreign journalists,” Reporters Without Borders added. Aged 22, Maiwand happened to be at the roadside near the presumed target of the bombing, a vehicle containing the son of a local anti-Taliban militia commander. Three soldiers were wounded by the bomb, which was remote-controlled. Provincial intelligence chief Sadeq Tarakhil blamed the attack on the Taliban, calling them the “enemies of stability in Afghanistan.”