KABUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A senior provincial official was shot and killed in Afghanistan's western province of Farah on Sunday, the latest in a string of targeted attacks in the country, reported local media Ariana News TV.

Sefatullah, director of provincial department of Afghanistan Statistics Organization, was shot and killed when he was on his way to office in Qala-e-Zaman Khan neighborhood of provincial capital Farah city, according to the report.

More than 1,690 civilians were killed and over 3,430 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first half of the year in the war-torn country, according to figures released by the United Nations mission in the country.

The targeted and deliberate killings by the militants was the third cause of civilians casualties after improvised explosive devices (IEDs) blasts and ground engagements, according to the mission.