Gunmen kill Afghan education officer

Heavily armed gunmen have shot and killed a district education officer in the troubled eastern region of Afghanistan, security sources say.

Local authorities said Mualim Azim was shot dead early Monday morning in Nangahar province.

The assailants managed to flee the scene and their whereabouts remain unknown. Afghan security forces have launched a search operation to capture the perpetrators of the attack.

No group has yet claimed responsibility, but the Afghan government often blames the Taliban militants for similar attacks in the violence-wracked country.

Reflecting their Saudi-based Wahhabi beliefs, suspected Taliban-linked militants have been trying to ban education, especially for girls, in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

During the last several years alone, the militants have shut down, blown up or torched hundreds of schools in Afghanistan.

Due to the ongoing violence, the number of girls and boys enrolled in schools has dramatically dropped.

The Afghan Ministry of Education says around 100 teachers and educational personnel have been killed across the war-ravaged country since the beginning of the year. The officials say the education officials are mostly targeted in crossfire, roadside bombings and targeted killings.

In late April, the Taliban announced the start of their annual Å“offensive” against US-led and Afghan forces, vowing a new wave of attacks across Afghanistan.

The militant group said it would use “every possible tactic” to inflict casualties on Afghan and US-led forces. They specifically mentioned insider attacks, and bomb attacks.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan as part of Washingtonâ„¢s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but the country is still gripped by insecurity.

JR/KA

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Republished from: Press TV