Body of former New York Times journalist, working for radio station in Afghanistan, found burned and mutilated inside a bag

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The burned and mutilated body of an Afghan journalist has been found in a plastic bag behind a car salesman's yard in the capital of Helmand province, local officials said.

It was an ominous attack for an area that has become a focal point of the insurgency, and seen rising violence in recent years, but where the last murder of a journalist was five years ago.

Police are investigating the killing, said Abdul Ahad Choopan, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

"When we found the body around 7pm yesterday we thought there was a bomb inside the bag. We asked our engineers to check, but when they opened the bag it was the body of the journalist."

Noor Ahmed Noori worked for Radio Busd, and until last year had also worked for the New York Times.

The Taliban could not be reached for comment on the killing, but Helmand is also a focus for drug traffickers, and journalists who cover the area's problems can easily make enemies.

The last journalist killed in Afghanistan was Abdul Samad Rohani, a BBC employee who was abducted in 2008 and shot dead.

A roadside bomb killed Abdul Hadi Hamdard, another Afghan journalist, in Helmand in 2012, but it was unclear if the bomb had been targeted at him.