Afghan President Hamid Karzai's younger brother, the government's key powerbroker in the south of the country, was assassinated yesterday, depriving Nato of a vital if controversial ally.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for killing Ahmed Wali Karzai in his own home, while the Kandahar provincial police chief said he was shot dead by the long-serving commander of his family's personal protection force.
The half-brother of the Afghan leader was for years a deeply controversial figure, dogged by allegations of unsavoury links to Afghanistan's lucrative opium trade and private security firms.
Kandahar police chief Abdul Razeq identified the assassin as Sardar Mohammad, the commander of a force of 200 bodyguards who had provided security for the younger Karzai's family for seven years.
The assassin went to Wali Karzai's study alone in excuse of important talks, he said. The killer was later killed by Wali Karzai's other bodyguards.
The assassination came just before the Afghan leader received French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was on a surprise visit to Afghanistan where he announced that Paris would recall 1,000 soldiers by the end of next year.
Source : The Daily Star
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