A suicide bomber killed four, including a senior cleric, when he detonated inside a mosque at a memorial service for the assassinated brother of the Afghan president.
The Red Mosque in Kandahar had been packed with dignitaries and family members praying for Ahmad Wali Karzai just before the attack witnesses said.
Maulavi Hekmatullah Hekmat, head of KandaharÂ’s clerical council, died in the blast with three others and at least 15 were wounded.
Early reports suggested the attacker had evaded security by placing his explosives in a turban. President Hamid Karzai had not been in the mosque at the time, his palace said.
The attack came just two days after the assassination of southern Afghanistan's most powerful man and the creation of a power vacuum which many fear could escalate violence in the critical southern city.
It also followed a United NationsÂ’ report that civilian deaths in the decade-long conflict had again hit record levels in the first six months of this year |