AFGHANISTAN'S former president tasked with leading peace efforts in the war-torn country has been assassinated in a suicide attack at his Kabul home.
Two of his close political allies told AFP of Burhanuddin Rabbani's assassination after police confirmed a suicide explosion in his street.
"Yes, he is dead," said one of the two sources, both of whom wept as they confirmed the news by telephone.
Rabbani was the chief of President Hamid Karzai's High Council for Peace, which is tasked with negotiating with the Taliban, so far unsuccessfully.
The blast, which happened close to the US embassy yesterday, is the second attack within a week to strike within Kabul's supposedly secure diplomatic zone. An ambulance has arrived at the scene and surrounding roads have been blocked off by police. |