Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the killing of Afghan journalist Javid Noori, who was shot dead by the Taliban in his native province of Farah in Afghanistan's west.

Noori, who worked for the Farah regional government as well as hosting two programs on local Radio Neshat, was travelling on a bus with around 30 other passengers when it was stopped and searched at a Taliban roadblock on January 5, RSF said in a statement on January 8.

The Taliban militants shot Noori after finishing their search, it added.

"This summary execution is the first death of a journalist in 2019 to be registered on RSF's barometer," said Reza Moini, the head of RSF's Afghanistan-Iran desk.

"There is an urgent need to end such practices. We reiterate our appeal to the international community to condition the start of any talks with the Taliban on their giving an explicit undertaking to respect international humanitarian law's basic treaties, starting with the Geneva Conventions," Moini said.

Noori, 27, began hosting a Radio Neshat program, Psychology Of The Green Life, in 2016, after completing his psychology studies at the University of Kabul.

For the past year, Noori had also been hosting the Friday evening program on social issues.

Local officials in Farah said Noori's body was found and turned over to his family on January 8.

A Taliban spokesman said the militant group killed Noori because he worked for the government.

He added that the Taliban had also seized 13 pro-government militiamen as suspected spies who were on the same bus.

The Taliban and other militant groups have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year yet for the Afghan media, according to RSF.

Afghanistan is ranked 118th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

With reporting by Reuters