Gunmen kill Afghan government prosecutor

Updated - August 10, 2016 03:44 pm IST

Published - August 21, 2011 11:58 am IST - KANDAHAR

Two gunmen on motorcycles killed a government prosecutor in the turbulent south of Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said.

The attackers shot Mohammad Azam, the chief prosecutor for Helmand province’s Gereshk district, in the morning as he headed out to work, said Helmand province attorney general Khushahal Shapa. Azam oversaw all prosecutions for the volatile district.

The Helmand governor’s office said in a statement that the attackers fled and that security forces are searching for them.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban regularly targets Afghans working with international forces or the Afghan government as collaborators.

In the east, meanwhile, a NATO drone crashed in the city of Jalalabad, said Capt. Pietro D’Angelo of the Italian army, a spokesman for NATO forces in Kabul. Initial reports indicated that the drone went down because of a mechanical failure, D’Angelo said.

There were no injuries, but an Associated Press photographer at the site reported that two houses were damaged.

The Taliban claimed to have shot down the aircraft.

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