A senior special forces commander with Afghanistan's police was shot dead in Kabul late on June 28 as he picnicked with his family in the Makrorayan area of the capital, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry says.
Interior Ministry spokesman Najb Danish said on June 29 that Azizullah Karwan, the commander of a special police force in eastern Paktika Province had led dozens of anti-Taliban operations. He had reportedly survived several previous assassination attempts.
Karwan worked closely with U.S. special forces in Paktika, said Mohammad Nader Katawazi, a parliamentarian from Paktika Province. Katawazi said Karwan's death is a blow to the battle against insurgents in eastern Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the attack in a telephone interview.