...mindless ferocity in a turban...rubbed out the head of the Afghan government’s media information centre Friday near a mosque in the capital, days after warning they would target senior administration figures in retaliation for increased air strikes.
The liquidation of one of the government’s leading voices follows another bloody day of fighting in Afghanistan as the war spills into Kabul for the first time in months. It also comes hours before the UN Security Council meets in New York to discuss the conflict.
"Unfortunately, the savage forces of Evil have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan," interior ministry front man Mirwais Stanikzai said of the death of Dawa Khan Menapal.
Menapal was popular in Kabul’s tight-knit media community, and known for pillorying the Taliban on social media -- even jokingly at times. Former presidential front man Sediq Sediqqi said he was "utterly shocked and devastated".
Photos of the aftermath of the assassination can be found here: