Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother assassinated

[News_Editor]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother assassinated

2011-07-12 20:38:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother Ahmad Wali Karzai was shot dead on Tuesday in his home by Taliban militants, officials said.

The assassination took place at around 11:30 a.m. local time, and according to an anonymous source, Wali Karzai was killed by the commander of his bodyguards, Pajhwok Afghan News reported. President Karzai, spokesman for Kandahar’s governor Zalmai Ayoubi, and Afghanistan's Interior Ministry have all confirmed the assassination, but it is still unconfirmed whether the murderer was one of Wali Karzai's bodyguards.

Reports indicate that Sardar Mohammad, who commanded the team of bodyguards, shot Wali Karzai twice, once in the stomach and again in the chest. Immediately after the incident, the other bodyguards opened fire and killed Mohammad at the scene.

During a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, President Karzai announced that "this morning, my younger brother Ahmad Wali Karzai, has been martyred in his house."

Meanwhile, through the group's spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination, stating that Mohammad was instructed by the terrorist group to kill Wali Karzai. Furthermore, unconfirmed reports suggest that Mohammad was the cousin of Ahmad Wali Karzai.

Wali Karzai was President Hamid Karzai's paternal half-brother. In 2005, he was elected to the Kandahar Provincial Council, serving as its chairman. He had previously survived two attacks against his office in Kandahar in November 2008 and in April 2009.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul and General David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), expressed their deepest condolences to President Karzai and his family.

"President Karzai is working to create a stronger, more secure Afghanistan, and for such a tragic event to happen to someone within his own family is unfathomable," Petraeus said.

"I strongly condemn the actions by anyone who played a role in this murder. ISAF will support the Afghan government in every possible way to bring to justice those involved in the murder of Ahmad Wali Karzai," he added.

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