Afghan officials say Taliban militants have killed a district police chief in the southern province of Helmand.
Omar Zwak, the spokesman for Helmand’s provincial governor, said the police chief was killed late on September 23 when gunmen attacked his vehicle during a patrol.
Voice of America (VOA) reported that the slain police official was Omar Jan Haqmal from Helmand's Nad-e Ali district, just a few kilometers west of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.
VOA reported the Haqmal was traveling to Lashkar Gah when he came under attack.
Zwak said another police officer was wounded in the attack.
The Taliban on September 24 claimed responsibility for the attack.
Haqmal was the fourth high-profile security official to be killed by militants in Afghanistan in a month.
Helmand has consistently been the deadliest province for both foreign and Afghan security forces since the Taliban was ousted from Kabul in late 2001.
Since the drawdown of international forces from Afghanistan in 2014, the Taliban has seized territory across much of Helmand Province, leaving the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, and the town of Gereshk as some of the only areas still under government control.
With reporting by AP, VOA, and The Guardian