KABUL: A roadside bomb killed a television journalist in Kabul on Saturday (May 30), soon after a top Afghan official appointed to lead peace talks with the Taliban said his team was ready for the long-delayed dialogue.
The insurgents denied responsibility for the blast, which targeted a minibus carrying 15 employees of private television channel Khurshid TV.
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The explosion, which claimed the lives of a reporter and a driver, punctuated an overall reduction in violence that has followed on from a three-day ceasefire the Taliban instigated May 24.
Just hours before the blast, Afghanistan's former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, who has been appointed to head talks with the Taliban, said his team was positioned to start dialogue.
Abdullah credited the general lull in violence for setting the tone for discussions.
"The ceasefire, a reduction in violence and the exchange of prisoners have all paved the way for a good beginning," Abdullah said at his first press conference since taking on the role.
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"The negotiating team is ready to begin the talks at any moment," he said.
However, he insisted on a fresh ceasefire during the talks.
No group claimed responsibility for Saturday's bombing in central Kabul.
Khurshid TV's news director Jawed Farhad confirmed the attack, which left the station's white minibus with extensive damage to its front end.
"The target of the blast was the vehicle of Khurshid private TV," the interior ministry said in a statement.
It was the second such attack targeting Khurshid employees in less than a year.
In August 2019, two passers-by were killed when a "sticky bomb" – a type of homemade explosive attached to vehicles with magnets – struck a similar Khurshid TV van in an unclaimed attack.
Afghanistan is one of the world's deadliest places for journalists, who face many risks covering the country's long conflict and who have sometimes been targeted for doing their job.
In a statement, the government said it condemned Saturday's "heinous" attack.
'ALL ON THE SAME PAGE'
Afghanistan's truce ended Tuesday night but violence since then has stayed relatively low, though government security forces have suffered some attacks that authorities blamed on the Taliban.
The ceasefire and general drop in violence has injected hope into Afghanistan's peace process, which had earlier this month looked to be on the verge of collapse because of soaring Taliban violence after they signed a deal with the US in February.
Peace talks were initially scheduled to begin on Mar 10.
Momentum has also built thanks to the government's release of hundreds of Taliban prisoners in recent weeks, as partRead More – Source
KABUL: A roadside bomb killed a television journalist in Kabul on Saturday (May 30), soon after a top Afghan official appointed to lead peace talks with the Taliban said his team was ready for the long-delayed dialogue.
The insurgents denied responsibility for the blast, which targeted a minibus carrying 15 employees of private television channel Khurshid TV.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The explosion, which claimed the lives of a reporter and a driver, punctuated an overall reduction in violence that has followed on from a three-day ceasefire the Taliban instigated May 24.
Just hours before the blast, Afghanistan's former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, who has been appointed to head talks with the Taliban, said his team was positioned to start dialogue.
Abdullah credited the general lull in violence for setting the tone for discussions.
"The ceasefire, a reduction in violence and the exchange of prisoners have all paved the way for a good beginning," Abdullah said at his first press conference since taking on the role.
Advertisement
Advertisement
"The negotiating team is ready to begin the talks at any moment," he said.
However, he insisted on a fresh ceasefire during the talks.
No group claimed responsibility for Saturday's bombing in central Kabul.
Khurshid TV's news director Jawed Farhad confirmed the attack, which left the station's white minibus with extensive damage to its front end.
"The target of the blast was the vehicle of Khurshid private TV," the interior ministry said in a statement.
It was the second such attack targeting Khurshid employees in less than a year.
In August 2019, two passers-by were killed when a "sticky bomb" – a type of homemade explosive attached to vehicles with magnets – struck a similar Khurshid TV van in an unclaimed attack.
Afghanistan is one of the world's deadliest places for journalists, who face many risks covering the country's long conflict and who have sometimes been targeted for doing their job.
In a statement, the government said it condemned Saturday's "heinous" attack.
'ALL ON THE SAME PAGE'
Afghanistan's truce ended Tuesday night but violence since then has stayed relatively low, though government security forces have suffered some attacks that authorities blamed on the Taliban.
The ceasefire and general drop in violence has injected hope into Afghanistan's peace process, which had earlier this month looked to be on the verge of collapse because of soaring Taliban violence after they signed a deal with the US in February.
Peace talks were initially scheduled to begin on Mar 10.
Momentum has also built thanks to the government's release of hundreds of Taliban prisoners in recent weeks, as partRead More – Source
