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Two arrested in connection with Ghazni journalist’s assassination
Special Forces from the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) have arrested two men in connection with the assassination of slain Afghan journalist Rahmatullah Nikzad, the spy agency said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the statement, the perpetrators are Taliban militants who were among the 5,000 prisoners freed by government earlier this year under the terms of the US-Taliban agreement.
The militants were identified as Hamidullah and Zikrullah and “were among 5,000 Taliban prisoners that reunited with the Qari Obaid group, who are responsible for targeted killings in Ghazni,” read the statement.
“In the last two months, they (suspects) have assassinated Rahmatullah Nikzad, a judge and two Ghazni revenue department staff members in the province,” the statement read.
The militants admitted to their crimes during preliminary questioning, the NDS stated.
The Taliban has not yet commented.
Nikzad, a respected journalist who had freelanced for numerous agencies, including Associated Press and al-Jazeera, was gunned down on December 21 in Ghazni City.