Afghanistan

Cleric killed in attack by gunmen in northern Afghanistan

Pul-e-Khumri City, Baghlan. File photo.

Unidentified gunmen killed a cleric and wounded another in the Baghlan province of northern Afghanistan, sources confirmed to Amu.

The attack occurred on Tuesday evening, Jan. 7, in Baghlan-e-Markazi district, according to local sources.

Abdul Razaq, an imam and a teacher at a local religious seminary, was fatally shot during the assault. Hamdullah Mohammadi, a preacher at the district’s New City Mosque, was seriously injured and taken to a hospital, where his condition remains critical, the sources added.

Abdul Razaq, the cleric killed in the attack, was a staunch supporter of the Taliban. He frequently used his sermons to endorse the group’s actions and governance.

Daesh’s Khorasan branch, or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Taliban have not yet commented on the incident, and the investigation remains ongoing.