The Taliban had threatened an Afghan reporter who was killed in a car bomb attack this week for investigating their attacks, Human Rights Watch said.
Radio Liberty reporter Aliyas Dayee, 33, was killed on Thursday when a sticky bomb attached to his car exploded in the southern city of Lashkar Gah, the scene of intense fighting in recent months.
Dozens of other journalists had also been threatened by the group, the US-based rights group said in a statement late Thursday.
Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists, have become more common in recent months as violence surges in Afghanistan, despite ongoing peace talks between the government and the Taliban.
No group has so far claimed the killing of Dayee.
But Dayee recently told HRW that he had received death threats, warning him to stop his reporting on Taliban military operations, it said.