Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead a senior judge in the western Afghan province of Farah, the province's governor said today.
Shaikh Ahmad, the second most senior judge in the province, was killed last night.
"He was coming home from a mosque when two men on a motorcycle opened fire and unfortunately killed him," according to the governor of Farah, Ezatullah Wasfi.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the killing.
Wasfi said "the enemies of Afghanistan" had killed Ahmad, using a term government officials use to refer to Taliban and other anti-government militants.
The Taliban have unleashed a wave of violence in recent months but security officials say much violence also stems from land and water disputes, the illegal drugs trade, clan feuds and business disputes.
In a separate incident, a blast went off in a police vehicle parked inside the compound of the governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar, said police in the provincial capital, Jalalabad.
There were no casualties, police said. Provincial government officials declined to comment.