A candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections was shot dead by unknown gunmen in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.

According to the local officials, the incident took place late on Tuesday night in the vicinity of the 2nd police district of Kandahar city.

The provincial government media office in a statement confirmed the incident and said civil activist and parliamentary candidate Mohammad Nasir Mubarez was shot dead by the militants late on Tuesday night.

The statement further added that Mubarez was shot dead in a guerrilla type attack in Khad Road located in the vicinity of the 2nd police district of the city.

Blaming the anti-government armed militants for the incident, the provincial government added that the militant groups are occasionally attacking the talented youths in a bid to achieve their goals.

No individual or group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

This comes as the security situation in southern Kandahar province had improved comparatively during the recent years but the anti-government armed militants are attempting to destabilize the province as part of their ongoing efforts to increase attacks in the key southern provinces.