Afghan education official shot dead in western province

An Afghan education official was shot dead by militants in western Badghis province on Sunday, a provincial government spokesman said.

"The official named Mohammad Mehdi was kidnapped 10 days ago along a main road from Badghis to neighbouring Herat province, but his bullet-riddled body was found Sunday morning," Sharfuddin Majidi told Xinhua.

Afghan officials and pro-government figures have been repeatedly targeted by the militants since May 3 when Taliban insurgents launched an annual spring offensive.

Five education officials were killed and seven others injured in eastern Paktika province on May 8.

Also in Paktika, five civilians were seriously injured when their vehicle touched off a Taliban roadside bomb in Sar Hawza district late Saturday.

The wounded were shifted to a hospital in provincial capital Sharan, an official in the province Mukhlis Afghan told Xinhua on Sunday.

In another development, security forces carried out an operation and captured two Taliban suicide bombers in northern Takhar province earlier Sunday.

They also found a handful of weapons and four suicide vests during the raid, a provincial official said.