KABUL, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen have shot dead a senior provincial religious official in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kapisa, a local official said Saturday.
Unknown armed motorcyclists opened fire on Maulavi Gul Mohammad Hanifyar, head of Kapisa Provincial Ulama Council, killing him and one of his bodyguards on the spot near provincial capital of Mahmud-e-Raqi Saturday morning, the official told Xinhua anonymously.
The assailants fled the scene shortly after the firing and police have initiated an investigation into the incident, the official said, adding further details will be shared with media later by authorized officials.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the murder. However, Afghan government regularly blames Taliban militants for the killing of religious scholars and local leaders on the charge of working with the government.
Another Ulama Council Chief Maulvi Abdul Rahim Hanafi had also been killed and five of his students were wounded in a bomb attack in the adjacent Parwan province few months ago.
