Taliban turban bomber kills Kandahar mayor

The mayor of Kandahar, a close ally of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, was assassinated in a suicide attack yesterday – the latest in a string of political murders in the key southern region.

The killing came two weeks after Mr Karzai’s powerful brother was shot dead in the city and is a further setback for US-led efforts to control the Taliban’s spiritual home as foreign troops start to withdraw.

The suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden in his turban and killed mayor Ghulam Haidar Hameedi, who was talking to locals in the courtyard of Kandahar’s city hall, police chief Abdul Razeq said.

Those involved in the talks said Mr Hameedi had been discussing a land dispute with residents after he ordered the destruction of illegally built homes and two children reportedly died during demolition work on Tuesday.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying that a volunteer suicide attacker had come forward after the deaths of the children.

Mr Karzai condemned the killing of his ally, who had a rare reputation for resisting corruption in the volatile region.

“The enemies of the people and country martyred a man this morning who spared no effort, day and night, to reconstruct the country and lost his life on this path,” said Mr Karzai in a statement from his palace.

Nato’s International Security Assistance Force praised Mr Hameedi as a “strong leader and voice for a terror-free and progressive Afghanistan” and said it would work with local forces to bring those responsible to justice.

The 65-year-old mayor leaves behind five daughters and two sons.

Kandahar, home to Mr Karzai’s family and scene of some of the war’s bloodiest fighting over the course of a decade, is a hotbed of tribal rivalries over local influence and money.

Kandahar-based analyst Yunos Fakoor said the death of Mr Hameedi, who had lived for years in the US until he took his post in 2006, was another blow to the President’s support base in the south.

“(He) was under direct support of the Karzai brothers. Kandahar-wise, it is again another big loss for President Karzai,” said Mr Fakoor.