Killing of Karzai Adviser Second Blow to President in Days
Baku, July 18 (AZERTAC). A senior adviser to Hamid Karzai was shot dead at home in Kabul yesterday in a second blow to the Afghan president less than a week after the assassination of his powerful half brother.
Two militants stormed the home of Jan Mohammed Khan, a former governor of Uruzgan province, at about 8 p.m., killing him as well as parliamentary lawmaker Mohammed Hashem Watanwal, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The gunmen held off security forces for five hours before being shot dead, Hashmatullah Stanekzai, spokesman for Kabul`s police chief, said by phone. One police officer died in the encounter.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which came five days after Ahmed Wali Karzai was killed at home by a bodyguard in the southern province of Kandahar. The death of the president`s younger brother, who had dominated politics in Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold, underscored the security challenges Afghanistan faces as the U.S. begins withdrawing troops. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in India today for discussions that will include Afghanistan.
Khan was a member of Karzai`s Popalzai tribe and supported the president`s 2009 election campaign in Uruzgan before being appointed as an adviser on tribal affairs, said Ahmad Saeedi, a political analyst and former Afghan diplomat.
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