An Afghan army pilot was on Wednesday afternoon shot dead by unknown gunmen in Kandahar province, thus becoming the latest victim of the deadly spree of targeted assassinations in Afghanistan.

Massoud Atal, a military pilot at Atal Corps, was targeted in Police District 14 of Kandahar city in Kandahar province. Officials confirmed the incident but refused to provide any further details.

No group has yet claimed the attack. The police said the investigation is going on in the case.

Speaking in the Afghan parliament, Interior Minister Massoud Andrabi blamed the Taliban for targeted killings in the country. The insurgent group, he claimed, wanted to run over large areas in southern parts that the Afghan forces prevented. This led the Taliban to resort to targeted assassinations, he added.

He also said that the Taliban had formed a special unit for assassinations. The attacks, he believed, have increased since the US-Taliban deal in February this year.

“The Taliban is seeking leverage in peace efforts by putting pressure on the government by IED bombings in Kabul and launching attacks in the country at the same time,” Andrabi was quoted as saying by TOLOnews.

Since the US-Taliban deal in February this year, there have been a total of 18,200 attacks, the Taliban responsible for 99 percent of them, Gen Zia Saraj, the chief of the Afghan intelligence Claimed in parliament.