Gunmen kill provincial judge, child in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – Gunmen burst into a family home of a provincial judge in eastern Afghanistan, killing him and his niece in the latest assassination of an Afghan government official, authorities said Sunday.

Mohammad Nasir, the head of the appeals court for Kunar province, was visiting family in neighboring Nangarhar province Saturday night when gunmen stormed into his sister-in-law's house and opened fire, said Mohammad Asan, the administrator of Khogyani district in Nangarhar.

Nasir and his eight-year-old niece were both killed, Asan said.

Nasir's wife and another five children were wounded, said provincial health department adviser Sayed Hafandi. Two of the children are in serious condition at a hospital, he said.

Asan said they believe the gunmen went after Nasir because of his ties to the government. Taliban insurgents have assassinated hundreds of Afghan government officials and supporters in recent years, seeking to sap public confidence in President Hamid Karzai's administration.

The insurgent group has also said in public statements that it considers anyone working for the government or the international military a collaborator, not a civilian.