Afghan President Hamid Karzai (right) with his brother Ahmad Wali Karzai (left) Photo: AP
I guess President Karzai has a choice, huh? Give in to the Taliban or die. Funny thing, ever since the assassination of his brother, Karzai hasn't been nearly as quick to criticize the actions of U.S. and NATO troops in his country.
The story is from The Telegraph.
Kandahar suicide attack during funeral for Hamid Karzai's brother
The Red Mosque in Kandahar had been packed with dignitaries and family members praying for Ahmad Wali Karzai just before the attack witnesses said.
Maulavi Hekmatullah Hekmat, head of Kandahar’s clerical council, died in the blast with three others and at least 15 were wounded.
Early reports suggested the attacker had evaded security by placing his explosives in a turban. President Hamid Karzai had not been in the mosque at the time, his palace said.
The attack came just two days after the assassination of southern Afghanistan's most powerful man and the creation of a power vacuum which many fear could escalate violence in the critical southern city.
It also followed a United Nations’ report that civilian deaths in the decade-long conflict had again hit record levels in the first six months of this year.
An average of eight Afghans a day were killed, up 15 per cent from the same period last year, despite Nato assessments that the coalition had begun to turn the tide of violence.
Four-fifths of those were killed by insurgents, often in indiscriminate roadside bombings and suicide attacks such as the one which struck Kandahar.
Maulavi Hekmatullah Hekmat led a government backed council of clergy who preached against the Taliban’s violent interpretations of Islam.
His public stands against suicide bombing and kidnapping had led to daily death threats and accusations he was a puppet of the foreign troops and Karzai regime.
Several of his colleagues had been assassinated in recent years and the council had dwindled in size.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the killing.
Siddiq Siddiqi, interior ministry spokesman, said: “The bombing was in a corner of the mosque. It’s a big mosque," Government investigators were still trying to determine why Sardar Mohammad had shot dead his close friend Ahmed Wali Karzai at point blank range on Tuesday morning.
Mohammad had worked as a bodyguard and security commander for the president’s younger half brother for years.
Friends suggested he was prone to violent rages and had been treated for erratic behaviour linked to hashish use.
However, he was said to hate the Taliban, who have claimed Mohammad was one of their agents.
The United Nations report said 1462 civilians were estimated to have died from fighting in the first six months from the war, though the figure was likely to be higher because much of the conflict is in remote areas.
It said: “As the conflict intensified in the traditional fighting areas of the south and southeast and moved to districts in the west and north, civilians experienced a downward spiral in protection.”
1 comment:
The Muslims like to get you both coming and going.
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