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             Taliban Attack on Afghan Media Group Widely Condemned

   by Ayaz Gul

   A deadly Taliban suicide bombing against Afghanistan's leading private
   media group, Tolo News has created severe domestic and international
   outrage and is being widely condemned as an assault on freedom of
   speech.

   The bombing happened in a western part of Kabul Wednesday evening when
   a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a minibus
   transporting employees of the TV station from work to their homes.

   The blast killed at least seven people and wounded 24 others. The
   victims included women and children.

   Investigation

   Speaking to reporters in Kabul Thursday Afghan Interior Ministry
   spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said the attack is under investigation and
   promised to enhance security of media professionals in consultation
   with their organizations.

   The Taliban claimed responsibility for the violence, saying it was
   meant to punish Tolo TV for broadcasting anti-Afghan and anti-Taliban
   programs.

   The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemned the attack
   and reiterated that journalists, as civilians, may never be the object
   of attack or threats.

   Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement sent to reporters
   shortly after the bombing also accused Tolo of being a "spy agency" and
   warned others against indulging in such activities. "If they do not
   stop their evil activities this will not be the last attack on them,"
   he added.

   Being the biggest TV station in Afghanistan, Tolo News employees dozens
   of journalists, many in the volatile provinces and has been actively
   covering the fighting between national security forces and Taliban
   insurgents.

   'Military objectives'

   The Taliban in a statement in October it had designated as "military
   objectives" Tolo and other Afghan television stations it accused of
   airing baseless and inaccurate reports to "malign" the Taliban.

   It particularly cited allegations of rape and other crimes against the
   group during the Taliban's brief capture of the northern city of Kunduz
   in September.

   "Attacks aimed at crushing independent media organizations in
   Afghanistan are a direct assault on the very foundation of Afghan
   democracy, a free and open press," said the New York-based Committee to
   Protect Journalists.

   It called on the Afghan government to seek out and prosecute the
   perpetrators of this crime as quickly as possible.

   The attack on Tolo TV was an "atrocity designed to undermine
   Afghanistan's still fragile media freedom," said Human Rights Watch.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/taliban-attack-on-afghan-media-group-widely-condemned/3155710.html