Afghan local officials have accused suspected Taliban fighters of killing an Afghan radio station director in Kabul and kidnapping a journalist in the southern Helmand province, the latest in a long line of attacks targeting media workers.
The gunmen shot Tophan Omar, director of the Paktia Ghaj station and a staff member of the NAI organization, which supports media independence in Afghanistan, in the capital, Kabul, on Sunday.
The head of the rights group, Mujib Khulutjar, said Omar was a liberal, and officials in Kabul said they suspected the Taliban was behind the attack.
Last month, a report by the rights group said that at least 30 journalists and media professionals were killed, injured or kidnapped by "militant" groups in Afghanistan this year.
In the southern province of Helmand, officials said, Taliban gunmen kidnapped local journalist Nematullah Hemmat from his home in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, on Sunday.
A Taliban spokesman told Reuters he had no information about either incident.
A coalition of Afghan news organizations sent a letter to US President Joe Biden and House leaders urging them to grant special immigrant visas to Afghan journalists and their aides.
During the weekend, the Taliban took control of 3 northern cities and threatened to seize other cities, escalating their attack on the Afghan government forces.
This comes in the wake of Washington's announcement that it will withdraw its forces from the country by the end of this month.