Provincial official assassinated in northern Afghanistan

KABUL, July 28 - A provincial official was assassinated in Afghanistan's remote northeastern province of Badakhshan on Tuesday, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.The ministry said two armed attackers targeted Zabihullah Amiri, the director of the Information and Culture Department in Badakhshan, while he was on his way to work near the provincial capital Fayzabad.One of the suspected attackers was killed by Amiri's guards in a shootout, and a search for the second suspect was still underway, the ministry said. It did not blame any specific group for the attack.Earlier this month, officials from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said "a number of irresponsible individuals with malicious intentions" had attacked a district administration headquarters in Badakhshan but were repelled and arrested. REUTERS