Afghan war: Mayor of Kandahar killed in suicide attack

Kandahar is a critical area in the fight against the Taliban

 

The mayor of the volatile Afghan city of Kandahar, Ghulam Haidar Hameedi, has been killed in a suicide attack, officials say.

The attacker detonated explosives in his turban as the mayor made an address at the city hall, police said.
Two weeks ago, President Hamid Karzai's influential half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was killed in the same city.
The violence comes as Nato forces begin the handover of security to local troops in parts of the country.
Correspondents say Mr Hameedi had been speaking to local people who had come to discuss a land dispute when the explosion occurred.
Mr Hameedi had ordered for about 200 houses to be destroyed in the Loy Wala area as they had been built illegally, and two children had been killed as they were knocked down on Tuesday, security sources told the BBC.
Stability fears
The assassination is the latest in a string of attacks on influential officials in the country.
Earlier this month, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful men in southern Afghanistan, was killed in Kandahar city.

His death prompted renewed fears over stability in Kandahar, seen as a critical area in the fight against the Taliban.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary says Mr Hameedi was one of the most competent and trusted politicians in the region.
He had been mentioned as a possible figure to replace Ahmad Wali Karzai, according to AP news agency.
Ryan Crocker, a top US diplomat in Afghanistan, said the US "condemned in the strongest possible terms the death of another top government official", and expressed his condolences.
He said that the death showed the "extraordinary resilience" of the government and Afghan people in the face of the challenges.
Less than a week after Ahmad Wali Karzai's killing, a senior aide to Mr Karzai, Jan Mohammad Khan, died in an attack on his home in Kabul.
Kandhar was the country's designated capital during Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001 and has been the centre of the group's insurgency since they were overthrown in the US-led invasion.

Are you in Kandahar city? Did you witness the blast?