KABUL: Two Supreme Court judges were killed by gunmen in Kabul on Sunday, police said, amid a spate of targeted assassinations of officials that has recently sent a shockwave across Afghanistan.
The women were in a car on a road in a central part of Kabul when gunmen on a motorbike opened fire, killing both of them and wounding their driver, Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Farmarz said, adding that they were employees of the Supreme Court.
"The case is under joint investigation of security forces," he said.
An official source confirmed to Arab News that the women were the court's judges.
The attack took place days after the killing of three women officers in northern Balk province. Within the past three months, a number of journalists and civil and military officials have also died in targeted killings across the country.
In Kabul alone, several attacks involving magnet bombs or gunfire take place every week.
While no group claimed responsibility for Sunday's assault, President Ashraf Ghani blamed the Taliban.
"Attacks by the Taliban and other terrorist groups against defenseless people is against Islamic teaching and against the spirit of peace," he said in a statement.
Increased violence in Afghanistan coincides with US-sponsored peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government in Doha, Qatar, to end the country’s protracted conflict.
Government officials and US military in Afghanistan have often accused the Taliban of being behind most of the attacks — charges the Taliban deny.
Two official sources have told Arab News that several victims of the recent assassinations were officials tasked with probing corruption in the government.
The recent spate of assassinations, especially targeting women, has been a shock to Afghans.
“Atrocities in its bad shape continue in Afghanistan," Kabir Haqmal, a university lecturer, said. "Terrorists keep changing their tactics to kill our people, they even attack women shamelessly."
Taj Mohammad, an analyst, told Arab News that the fact that no one claims responsibility for the attacks is becoming "one big concern," while at the same time "shows government’s weakness for not being to contain or stop them."
“This sort of attacks creates fear in the society, reduces further confidence in government," he said. "It has become a big concern for the people at large as we witness them routinely."