WORLD
Brother of Afghan president shot dead at his home in Kandahar
Baku, July 12 (AZERTAC). Ahmad Wali Karzai, a half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and one of the most powerful men in southern Afghanistan, was killed this morning, an official and a family member confirmed.
Zalmay Ayoubi, spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province, where Wali Karzai lived and was head of the provincial council, said: `I confirm that Ahmad Wali was killed inside his house.
A cousin of Wali Karzai, who asked not to be named, also confirmed to Reuters that he had been killed.
Wali Karzai was shot dead by one of his bodyguards as he was entertaining guests at his home, a heavily-fortified compound in Kandahar city.
Zalmay Ayoubi, a spokesperson for the governor of Kandahar province said: `A guard of Ahmed Wali Karzai named Sardar Mohammad opened fire and killed him. The other guards shot and killed Sardar Mohammad.`
The motive for the shooting is not known but the Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing shortly after the announcement, calling it `one of our biggest achievements` in nearly a decade of war
Born in 1961, Wali Karzai was the younger paternal half-brother of Hamid Karzai and son of Abdul Ahad Karzai.
The 50-year-old was elected to the Kandahar Provincial Council in 2005.
He survived numerous assassination attempts by the Taliban, and at least two attacks against his office in Kandahar - one in November 2008 and the other in April 2009.
According to Wali Karzai himself, a total of nine suicide bombers had killed themselves attempting to take his life.