Jalalabad (Afghanistan) (AFP)

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the shooting of three employees of an Afghan television station in Jalalabad (east) on Tuesday, less than three months after the similar murder of one of its presenters, the report said. American agency SITE, specialized in the monitoring of jihadist groups.

"This afternoon, three of our colleagues, young women between the ages of 17 and 20, were shot and killed by gunmen in the city of Jalalabad," Zalmai Latifi, director of the AFP, told AFP. Enekaas TV channel.

The IS claimed responsibility for these assassinations in a statement relayed by the SITE agency on Tuesday evening.

"Caliphate soldiers targeted three female journalists working for one of the media loyal to the apostate Afghan government," the jihadist group said.

Kayhan Safi, head of the dubbing department at Enekaas TV, where the three victims worked, said the three young women, named Shahnaz, Sadia and Mursal, were killed as they left their office to return home to foot.

ISIS had previously claimed responsibility for the December assassination of Malalai Maiwand, a television presenter and activist working for Enekaas TV.

She had been shot dead with her driver in Jalalabad on her way to her office.

The jihadist group, although weakened in recent years, maintains a presence in the east of the country, and sometimes claims suicide attacks and assassinations in large cities like Kabul.

According to police, however, an assailant belonging to the Taliban was arrested.

"We arrested (an assailant) while he was trying to escape driving a rickshaw. His name is Qari Basir and he confessed to leading the attack. He is a member of the Taliban," Juma Gul said. Hemat, the police chief of Nangarhar, the province where the murder of the three young women took place.

A Taliban spokesperson denied any involvement by the group.

Zahir Adel, spokesperson for Nangarhar Hospital, confirmed that the bodies of the three employees were brought to his facility, along with two other women who were injured.

"With these cowardly attacks and by causing terror, the Taliban cannot silence the voices which are expressed forcefully to defend the Republic and the successes of the past two decades," reacted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Seven media collaborators were killed in 2020, according to the Committee to Protect Afghan Journalists (AJSC).

Another was also murdered in early 2021.

- "In-depth investigations" -

"These targeted assassinations must stop. The government must fully investigate these attacks against journalists and members of the media, and take all measures to ensure (their) safety," the AJSC said on Tuesday.

Targeted killings of journalists, judges, doctors, political and religious figures and human rights defenders have become more and more frequent in recent months in Afghanistan.

Many incidents go unclaimed.

The Taliban deny any responsibility for the targeted attacks, but the Afghan government and the United States continue to blame them.

Violence has only increased across the country in recent months, despite ongoing peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban.

Begun in September in Doha, these negotiations are at a standstill for the moment.

Not a day in Afghanistan goes by without a bomb explosion, attacks on government forces or an assassination attempt.

For its part, the administration of US President Joe Biden ordered a review of the agreement signed in February 2020 in Doha with the Taliban, which conditioned the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan by May 2021 on security guarantees of the part of the insurgents and their commitment to cut all ties with jihadist organizations like Al-Qaeda.

But the Taliban warned that if Washington were to reverse the deal, they would resume their attacks on US forces, which have since been suspended.

© 2021 AFP