Assassination

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's younger half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai has been killed in the southern province of Kandahar. The provincial governor’s office has confirmed the assassination and launched an investigation.

"Ahmed Wali Karzai was shot dead by unknown gunmen in his residence in Kandahar city, a spokesperson for the provincial government of Kandahar said on Tuesday. He added that doctors at the provincial hospital had pronounced President Karzai’s younger brother dead after his body was brought around noon local time. The provincial government also said that an investigation was underway.

An Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed the killing, but did not confirm the identity of the gunman, who is thought to have used an AK-47 rifle. "Ahmad Wali Karzai was martyred by a bullet strike inside his house in Kandahar," the statement said.

Some of his guests are also thought to have been killed.

A controversial figure

Earlier on Tuesday, Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada, the head of the counter-terrorism department at the Interior Ministry, had said the killing was probably the work of someone close to Ahmed Wali Karzai. "It appears Ahmad Wali Karzai has been killed by one of his bodyguards and there was nobody from outside involved," he told agencies.

According to an AFP report, the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the killing.

Ahmed Wali was the head of the Kandahar provincial council and a very controversial figure. He had already survived an assassination attempt. He was considered one of the most powerful men in southern Afghanistan and his influence is thought to have played an important role in consolidating support for his half-brother Hamid Karzai in the region.

However, he had also been linked to corruption and had been accused of having ties with Afghanistan's opium trade, which is allegedly a source of funding for the Taliban insurgency.

Documents released by WikiLeaks last year accused Ahmed Wali of being a corrupt drugs baron but he always denied the allegations.

According to a recent UN report, over 50 percent of assassinations in Afghanistan have occurred in Kandahar.

Author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan (dpa/AFP/Reuters)

Editor: Anne Thomas