BBC Reporter Is Shot to Death in Afghanistan

An Afghan reporter for the British Broadcasting Corp. was found shot dead Saturday near the Afghan capital, Kabul, where rival factions fighting for supremacy blamed each other for the killing.

Mir Wais Jalil, 25, was killed Friday night by gunmen who captured him when he was returning from interviewing Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar at his base south of Kabul, the reporter’s relatives said in neighboring Pakistan.

The BBC in London condemned the killing, and a spokesman described Jalil as “a highly professional journalist who was widely respected for his accurate, impartial reporting of the events in Afghanistan.”