KABUL, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two staff of Radio Hamsada, a local radio station based in northeastern Takhar province, have been shot dead inside their office by unidentified gunmen, according to a statement by the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC).

Shafiq Arya and Rahimullah were shot and killed by two gunmen who entered the premises of Radio Hamsada using commercial advertisements as an excuse Tuesday night.

Local authorities said the motive and perpetrators of these killings were not known yet, but they started investigations.

Denouncing the brutal act, the AJSC called on the government to identify the perpetrators and make sure that the justice is served, according to the statement.

Taliban and other insurgent groups have been targeting journalists working in Afghanistan. According to statistics compiled by the AJSC, 17 journalists have been murdered in Afghanistan in 2018.