Former TV presenter killed by bomb in apparent assassination in Afghan capital
A magnetic bomb attached to a car owned by the Central Bank of Afghanistan has killed three people inside the vehicle, including a former host of political shows on TOLO News television.
The bombing happened on Saturday morning in the Makrorayan-e-Char area of Afghanistan's capital Kabul near the home of former TOLO News anchor Yama Siawash. Police said three civilians were killed by the explosion and that all the victims were employees of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
تصاویر پس از انفجار امروز در شهر کابل که در آن سه تن جان باختند. pic.twitter.com/7GhMKHynR4
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) November 7, 2020
Siawash's brother, former Afghan MP Baktash Siavash, confirmed that the ex-journalist was among those killed. He and his father were reportedly the first people at the site of the blast.
Presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi condemns attack on former TOLOnews presenter Yama Siawash, who was a Central Bank employee and was killed in an explosion in Kabul on Saturday morning. Sediqqi says Siawash was one of the most talented presenters in the country. pic.twitter.com/1x7GrdxpfQ
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) November 7, 2020
The apparent assassination was condemned by Afghan and international journalists, organizations and officials. A government spokesman has called Siawash one of the most talented presenters in the country. He hosted political programs on TOLO TV before moving on with his career.
A new shock for 🇦🇫 to whom the voice and face of Yama Siawash, the former @TOLOnews political journalist and a #DaAfghanistanBank employee, were familiar. He and others were brutally murdered today. We express our condolences to their loved ones and support to the Afghan people.
— FrenchEmbassyKabul (@AmbassadeKaboul) November 7, 2020
No party immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Police have yet to establish a possible motive for the attack.
Afghanistan remains in a state of permanent turbulence, with a recent increase in attacks reported amid stalled negotiations between the government in Kabul and the Taliban militant movement over a possible peaceful transition. Some of the attacks that happen there are claimed by the local offshoot of the terrorist group the Islamic State, (IS, formerly ISIS), which is not part of the talks.
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