Karzai leads murdered brother's funeral

Blasts heard in Kandahar after thousands bury Ahmed Wali Karzai, influential brother of Afghan president. Last Modified: 13 Jul 2011 05:43 Email Print Share Send Feedback

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has led mourners at the funeral of Ahmed Wali Karzai, his influential younger half-brother, who was assassinated on Tuesday afternoon in Kandahar by a member of his own security team. Thousands of people gathered on Wednesday morning amid tight security outside the provincial governor's compound where Ahmed Wali's body was kept, with many piling on to waiting buses for the funeral procession to the family village of Karz, about 20 kilometres away. Security forces formed a tight perimeter around the compound and helicopters could be seen circling overhead. Shortly after the funeral, two explosions were heard in Kandahar city by a Reuters witness. It was not immediately clear what caused these blasts, where they happened or whether there were any casualties. According to Al Jazeera's sources, the Governor of Helmand province escaped an explosion near his car on the way to the funeral. Earlier reports suggested Karzai's elite security team had been deployed to secure the city for the funeral, that was postponed until Wednesday so family members could arrive. "We know we live in a dangerous country. We know that security has to be tight all the time and the president knows [this]. He's got good security and that is not a worry for the president," Waheed Omer, Karzai's spokesman, told Al Jazeera. "The president is upset, he is still in grief, about the death of his brother. Wali was a very close brother of the president," Omer said. Karzai spoke of his brother's death at a news conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday. "This is the life of the people of Afghanistan. Afghan families, every one of us, have suffered from it, and we hope, God willing, for our suffering to be over," he said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for killing Ahmed Wali Karzai. They have, in the past, taken responsibility for attacks that security services have questioned their role in. Al Jazeera correspondent Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said: "When Taliban launched Operation Badar earlier in the year, they said, their aim would be to target top officials. "But his (Ahmed Wali Karzai's) cousin was shocked how it could happen to him by someone from his own tribe, someone who had served him for years. The younger Karzai was the government's key powerbroker in the south of the country, and his death deprives NATO of a vital, if controversial, ally in Kandahar, the heartland of the Taliban campaign against Afghan forces and the NATO-led international coalition. "It will affect the security, of course... some believe, it will have an affect immediately in the coming weeks. It will affect Karzai's's plan of talking to the Taliban," added our correspondent. The half-brother of the Afghan leader was for years dogged by allegations of unsavoury links to the country's lucrative opium trade and ties to private security firms. Wali Karzai's killing raises questions about possible infiltration among those closest to the Karzai family. Over half of all assassinations in Afghanistan since March were carried out in Kandahar city, a recent UN report said.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

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