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Jalalabad: Three female TV journalists were killed in an attack
Photo: PARWIZ / REUTERS
After the fatal attack on three female journalists in Afghanistan, the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) claimed the crime for itself.
Three employees of the Afghan TV station Enikass were murdered in the attack on Tuesday in the city of Jalalabad in the east of the country.
The three women were attacked as they were about to leave their jobs in the station's synchronization department, Enikass boss Salmai Latifi told the AFP news agency.
In the meantime, the Afghan IS subsidiary has confessed to the attacks.
His fighters had killed journalists "who worked for one of the media that are loyal to the breakaway Afghan government," it said in a statement.
The police chief of Nangarhar Province had previously reported the arrest of one of the alleged perpetrators.
The police chief said the man had confessed and was a member of the radical Islamic Taliban.
A Taliban spokesman denied any involvement of the militia in the attacks.
Attacks have increased over the past few months
It was only in December that the Enikass TV presenter Malalai Maiwand was shot together with her chauffeur on the way to work in Jalalabad.
In addition to her work, she also campaigned for women's rights.
The IS had committed itself to this act at that time as well.
In the past few months, there has been a marked increase in the number of assassinations against activists, journalists, doctors, politicians and religious representatives in large cities in Afghanistan.
The Taliban reject any responsibility, and ISIS often claims to be behind the attacks.
Still, the government in Kabul and the US hold the Taliban responsible for the new wave of violence.
This week, the US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, arrived in Kabul for talks with Afghan representatives.
Khalilzad wants to revive the stalled intra-Afghan peace process provided for in the Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban.
The agreed withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan is stalling
The Doha agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban in February 2020 provides for all foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan by May 1.
However, the new US President Joe Biden has ordered a review of the agreement.
High-ranking German military officials recently warned that this delay in troop withdrawal could lead to increased attacks on international troops.
There are currently around 1,100 Bundeswehr soldiers on site.
The Bundeswehr currently has the second largest contingent after the US Army, which has 2,500 soldiers in the country after a significant reduction in troops under the former President Donald Trump.
Due to the uncertainty about the progress of the NATO mission, the federal government wants to extend the Bundestag mandate for the Bundeswehr in March, but only until the end of 2021. Until then, Berlin wants to wait and see how the US and NATO decide on Afghanistan.
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bmo / asc / Reuters / dpa / AFP