Unidentified gunmen shot and killed an Afghan journalist, said a local spokesman on Friday, the fifth journalist to be killed in the country in the past two months.
According The Associated Press, Bismillah Adil Aimaq was driving near Feroz Koh, the capital of Ghor province, traveling home after a visit with his family in a nearby village.
Arif Abir, a spokesman for the governor, said gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, killing Aimaq. Abir added that other people in the vehicle, including Aimaq’s brother, emerged unscathed from the attack.
The AP reported that no group had claimed responsibility and a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, denied that its members were involved.
Aimaq, who was also known as a human rights activist, worked as head of the local Radio Sada-e-Ghor station.
The murder took place last week after the death of the leader of the journalists’ union in Ghazni Province, Rahmatullah Nekzad. The AP reported that he was attacked outside his home by a group of armed men.
Nekzad has contributed reporting to the AP since 2007 and has also previously worked for Al Jazeera.
In December, Islamic State took responsibility for the murder of Afghan anchor Malala Maiwand, who was shot as he left his home in Nangarhar province.
Maiwand’s death was preceded by the deaths of two Afghan journalists in separate attacks.
Reporters Without Borders this week listed Afghanistan among the the five most lethal countries for journalists in 2020, along with Mexico, Iraq, Pakistan and India.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said this week that the recent deaths marked an increase in the trend of attacks on Afghan journalists, which the group said had led to self-censorship among local media.
The violence continued even in the midst of the peace talks started in September between the Taliban and the Kabul government, although negotiations have been suspended until this month.
Reporters Without Borders found out this week that more journalists around the world were killed outside war zones in 2020, with the majority deliberately targeted.
Of the 50 journalists killed last year, 34 were in countries that were not involved in armed conflicts. The number of journalists killed outside war zones has surpassed that in conflict areas since 2016.
The 2020 report also found that 42 journalists were deliberately targeted by their work. These journalists were investigating organized crime groups, corruption and topics related to environmental issues, such as illegal mining or land grabbing.