Taliban provincial governor killed in car bomb attack

The deputy governor of Badakhshan province in northern Afghanistan was killed by a car bomb attack on Tuesday, said a spokesperson for the province.

Nissar Ahmad Ahmadi was accompanied by his driver, who was also killed.

According to officials, the bomber drove a car filled with explosives into the vehicle carrying Ahmadi — who had stepped up as acting governor last month — in the provincial capital Faizabad.

"Nissar Ahmad Ahmadi, with his driver, has been killed and six civilians were injured," said Mahzudeen Ahmadi, the head of the information office of Badakshan, a province in the far north of the country that shares a border with China and Tajikistan.

Culprits not yet known

The identity of the perpetrators behind the bombing remains unclear.

This incident marks the first major attack targeting a Taliban official in Afghanistan in recent weeks.

The Taliban administration has been actively conducting operations against so-called "Islamic State" (IS) members, who have claimed responsibility for several significant attacks in urban areas.

IS has also targeted Taliban administration officials, including claiming the killing of the governor of northern Balkh province in an attack on his office in March.