A prominent religious cleric and former member of the provincial council of eastern Laghman province succumbed to his injuries he sustained during an attack by gunmen.

The provincial government in Nangarhar said Qari Rohullah was shifted to Nangarhar for the treatment after he was critically injured in the attack.

Qari Rohullah was serving as the prayer leader of the central mosque of Sultan Ghazi Baba township in Mehtarlam city, the provincial capital of Laghman province.

Provincial governor of Nangarhar Mohammad Gulab Mangal condemned the attack on Qari Rohullah in strongest words as he called him a patriotic religious figure who was tireless for the development of the country.

No group including the Taliban insurgents has so far claimed responsibility behind the attack on Qari Rohullah.

Laghman has been among the relatively calm provinces since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 but the anti-government armed militant groups have increased their insurgency in some parts of the province during the recent years.

This comes as the officials earlier reported that a major attack plan by the Taliban militants to capture the government compound and other key institutions was thwarted by the security forces.

The attack was plotted days after the militants suffered heavy casualties during the counter-terrorism operations being conducted by the Afghan forces.