‘SAVAGE TERRORISTS’

Taliban Brutally Assassinates Afghan Government’s Top Media Officer

The Taliban celebrated the killing, saying that Dawa Khan Menapal was “punished for his actions.”

The Taliban has brutally murdered the Afghan government’s top media officer. Dawa Khan Menapal ran the government’s press operations for the local and foreign media and his Twitter account, with over 142,000 followers, was often a vital source of information. Taliban fighters shot him dead on Friday, according to Afghanistan’s interior ministry. Describing the assassins as “savage terrorists,” a ministry spokesman said: “[Menapal] was a young man who stood like a mountain in the face of enemy propaganda.” The Taliban celebrated the killing, saying in a statement that Menapal was “killed in a special attack by the Mujaheedin [Taliban fighters] and was punished for his actions.” The attack came two days after the Taliban assaulted the defense minister’s home in Kabul, and as the militia carries out a nationwide offensive.