Abdul Hakim Taniwal, the governor of Afghanistan’s Paktia province, was assassinated with his bodyguard and a man thought to be his nephew. While driving from his office, Taniwal and the other 2 men were met by a suicide bomber who ran towards their car and detonated the bomb strapped to his body, killing the 3 men and wounding another 3.

Taniwal was a former sociology professor in his 60�s who lived in Melbourne, Australia for about 20 years in exile. He only returned to Afghanistan in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban regime. Officials speculate that much of the unrest is due to Taliban and al-Qaeda members. Afghanistan is seeing a surge in Taliban attacks, especially along the areas that share a border with Pakistan in the east and south. Last Friday, a car bomber ran into a US military convoy, killing 17 people.

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