Bomb attack kills former Afghan TV presenter: police

Journalists stand inside of a damaged classroom at the National Legal Training centre a day after gunmen stormed the university in Kabul on November 3, 2020. – Stunned students demonstrated outside Kabul University on November 3 after at least 22 people were killed in a brutal, on-campus attack claimed by the Islamic State group. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

A former Afghan television presenter and two other civilians were killed in a bomb explosion in Kabul on Saturday, police said, in the latest violence to rock the city.

Yama Siawash was killed when a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near his residence in the Afghan capital, police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz told journalists.

Siawash, who recently had joined Afghanistan’s central bank as an adviser, used to be a prominent political and current affairs presenter with Tolo News, the country’s biggest private TV channel.

No group claimed the attack, but many prominent figures, including journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists, have been killed in targeted attacks in Kabul and other cities amid growing violence in the country.

Siawash’s death drew immediate condemnation from senior Afghan officials.

“Targeting journalists is targeting the freedom of expression and Siawash’s death is a big loss for our country,” Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the country’s overall peace and reconciliation process said in a statement.

“This is an unforgivable and unforgettable crime.”

Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, also condemned the killing of “one of the most talented (television) presenters” in Afghanistan.

Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months despite the Taliban and Afghan government engaging in peace talks to end the country’s long running conflict.

On Monday, a deadly raid by militants on Kabul University left 22 people dead, many of them students.

The Islamic State militant group claimed that attack, which came just days after a suicide bombing near an educational centre in Kabul killed 24 people.

That attack was also claimed by IS.