Habib-ur-Rahman Mansur, mayor of Faizabad, the capital of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, was killed in a bomb attack. Hospital and municipal sources confirmed his death to AFP on Thursday. A hospital nurse said a bomb struck the vehicle carrying the mayor, leaving him seriously injured before he later died.

A Faizabad municipal employee said Mansur was killed when a bomb planted near their workplace exploded. The nurse provided the account on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the mayor.

Three weeks earlier, another government official in Badakhshan, Information and Culture Department head Zabihullah Amiri, was shot dead while travelling to Faizabad. Islamic State Khorasan claimed responsibility for that attack. Mining activity has increased in the remote province since the Taliban returned to power, but its security situation has not been fully brought under control. Recent attacks on government officials have renewed concerns over security in Badakhshan.