A prosecutor, Mohammad Hassanyar, was killed in an attack by gunmen in the city of Gardez, the center of Paktia province, on Thursday night, local officials said. 

Paktia governor Halim Fedaee said the attack happened by “terrorists” in the prosecutor’s home village in the city of Gardez. 

Hassanyar worked as a prosecutor for an appellate court in the Attorney General's Office in Paktia province.

The governor said an investigation has started into the incident. 

No group so far has claimed responsibility for the attack. 

This comes amidst a sharp increase in targeted killings in various parts of the country. The attack also comes a week after an NDS prosecutor was killed in a car bomb attack in the city of Lashkargah on March 6.