Overview
- Zabihullah Amiri, Badakhshan’s director of information and culture, was shot and killed by two gunmen while traveling to Faizabad, the Information Ministry said.
- Security guards fired back at the scene, killing one attacker and capturing a second, and officials are questioning the detained suspect.
- Authorities have opened an investigation into the motive and any wider network behind the attack, and forensic work is under way at the scene.
- No group has claimed responsibility so far, though Islamic State’s Khorasan affiliate has previously claimed deadly strikes in Badakhshan, including a June 2023 car bomb that killed the deputy governor.
- The killing underscores ongoing threats to provincial officials since 2021 and could lead to tighter local security measures and disruptions to daily life and government services in the province.