Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have shot and killed a relative of a Deutsche Welle journalist while hunting for him, the German public broadcaster said.

The militants were conducting a house-to-house search for the journalist, who now works in Germany, DW said Thursday.

A second relative was seriously wounded but others were able to escape, it said, without giving details of the incident.

DW director general Peter Limbourg condemned the killing, which he said showed the danger to media workers and their families in Afghanistan.

"The killing of a close relative of one of our editors by the Taliban yesterday is inconceivably tragic, and testifies to the acute danger in which all our employees and their families in Afghanistan find themselves," he said.

"It is evident that the Taliban are already carrying out organized searches for journalists, both in Kabul and in the provinces. We are running out of time!"

The Taliban had raided the homes of at least three other DW journalists, the broadcaster said.

DW and other German media organisations have called on the German government to take swift action to help their Afghan staff.

After taking Kabul, the Taliban launched a public relations blitz promising media freedom and a pardon for all their opponents.

However, a confidential UN document seen by AFP says they are intensifying their search for people who worked with US and NATO forces.