Gunmen assassinate 2 female Supreme Court judges in Afghanistan

KABUL: Gunmen shot dead two Afghan women judges working for the Supreme Court in an ambush in the country’s capital Sunday, officials said, an attack the top US envoy in Kabul blamed on the Taliban.

Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months despite ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and government – especially in Kabul, where a new trend of targeted killings aimed at high-profile figures has sown fear in the restive city.

The latest attack, which US Charge D’affaires Ross Wilson blamed on the Taliban, comes just two days after the Pentagon announced it had cut troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500, the fewest in nearly two decades.

The attack on the judges happened as they were driving to their office in a court vehicle, said Ahmad Fahim Qaweem, a spokesman for the Supreme Court. “Unfortunately, we have lost two women judges in today’s attack. Their driver is wounded,” Qaweem told AFP.

There are more than 200 female judges working for the country’s top court.

Afghanistan’s Supreme Court was a target in February 2017 when a suicide bomb ripped through a crowd of court employees, killing at least 20 and wounding 41.

The latest attack drew widespread condemnation, with Wilson blaming the Taliban directly as he called for an investigation. “The Taliban should understand that such actions for which it bears responsibility outrage the world and must cease if peace is to come to Afghanistan,” wrote Wilson on Twitter.

Following the attacks the American embassy updated its travel advisory, saying “US citizens already in Afghanistan should consider departing”.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also accused the Taliban of launching an “illegitimate war and hostility”. “The government once again reiterates its call on the Taliban that violence, terror, brutality and crimes... will only prolong the war in the country,” he said in a statement.

In recent months, several prominent Afghans – including politicians, journalists, activists, doctors and prosecutors – have been assassinated in often brazen daytime attacks in Kabul and other cities.

Many journalists and activists have left the country, worried they might the next targets.

Afghan officials have steadfastly blamed the Taliban for the assassinations, a charge the insurgent group has denied.