Afghan president's brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, killed
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The half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been assassinated in Kandahar, officials say.
Ahmad Wali Karzai, a leading power broker in the country's south, was shot dead at his home in a blow to Nato's battle against the Taliban in the area.
He was shot twice by his long-time head of security Sardar Mohammed, who was himself killed almost immediately.
The Taliban said they carried out the attack, calling it one of their top achievements in 10 years of war.
Sardar Mohammed's motives remain unclear, but the killing will raise questions about securing Afghanistan's top officials.
Previous assassination attempts
Ahmad Wali Karzai's killing is the latest and most high-profile in a series of assassinations of senior politicians and security commanders across the country.
Continue reading the main story Analysis The last time I saw Ahmad Wali Karzai in his heavily protected compound, he said the war against the Taliban in Kandahar was being won. He wanted foreign troops to stay the course - even though his brother, the president, didn't. The man they called Mr Kandahar was asked to solve every problem from tackling Taliban strongholds to solving the personal problem of anyone who made it to his door. President Karzai relied on him to consolidate his tribal and political sway in the restive south - he must now be deeply worried. Nato officials had often spoken of putting Ahmad Wali Karzai "on notice" over allegations of drug deals, and corruption. He challenged everyone to prove it. There's an old Afghan saying "whoever controls Kandahar, controls Afghanistan". Ahmad Wali Karzai was the lynchpin in so many areas, his death now leaves a dangerous vaccum.
The Afghan president said the assassination reflected the suffering of all Afghan people.
"This is the way of life for the people of Afghanistan," said Mr Karzai.
"The homes of all Afghans feel this pain. Our hope is this (violence) will come to an end and peace and happiness come to our homes and will come to rule in our country."
Critics said Ahmad Wali Karzai was a warlord mired in corruption who was openly involved in the drugs trade and had a personal militia at his disposal.
His supporters saw him as a defender of Pashtun rights. The president repeatedly defended him, denouncing accusations that his brother was involved in criminal activities.
Security was intensified in Kandahar following Tuesday morning's shooting, as the body of Ahmad Wali Karzai, who was born in 1961, was taken to a nearby hospital.
As head of the Kandahar Provincial Council, he was a staunch ally of US and allied forces in Afghanistan, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul, to the extent that they turned a blind eye to accusations he was involved in drug trafficking.
"Despite our worries about Ahmad Wali Karzai, he was someone the US could work with and he kept a lid on things in Kandahar," a US official told the BBC.
Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote [Ahmad Wali Karzai] was someone the US could work with and he kept a lid on things in Kandahar” End Quote US official
It is hard to overstate how important he was in the south of Afghanistan and in Nato's efforts to combat the Taliban in their stronghold there, adds our correspondent.
The Commander of the International Security Assistance Force, US General David Petraeus, condemned the assassination, and said ISAF would work with the Afghan government to bring anyone involved to justice.
"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," said Gen Pertraeus.
Ahmad Wali Karzai had survived attempts on his life before, most recently in a rocket and machine gun attack in 2009 as his convoy was travelling towards Kabul.
The previous year, he was chairing a meeting in a government building when a bomb-filled fuel tanker exploded close by.
Although Mr Karzai escaped unhurt, six people were killed and 40 wounded in the blast.
He and other officials blamed Taliban militants for the bombing.
In 2003, Mr Karzai's house in Kandahar city was hit by an explosion which he said was caused accidentally when some weapons were being moved.
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Wali Karzai speaking to media in 2010
, the half-brother of the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, has been shot dead in . Wali Karzai was head of the Kandahar Provincial Council at the time of his assassination. The perpetrator was Sardar Mohammed, the head of security in charge of protecting Karzai. Mohammed was killed instantly after the assassination.

President Karzai released a statement after the killing of his brother. He said "This is the way of life for the people of Afghanistan. The homes of all Afghans feel this pain. Our hope is this (violence) will come to an end and peace and happiness come to our homes and will come to rule in our country."

The motive as to why Mohammed would have killed Karzai remain unclear, but the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the assassination. Local politician  said he was sceptical about the Taliban's involvement. The group has claimed responsibility for several attacks and killings without evidence of their involvement.

Karzai had survived several assassination attempts before. He escaped uninjured after a fuel tanker filled with bombs exploded near a building where he was hosting a meeting in 2008, and again in 2009 when his convoy was attacked by machine guns and rocket attacks.

General , the commander of the , said "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." Another US offical told the BBC, "Ahmad Wali Karzai had his unsavoury side, but he was someone we could work with and he kept a lid on things in Kandahar."



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