A cousin of Afghan President Hamid Karzai was killed by
a suicide bomber in southern Afghanistan Tuesday, police said, according to dpa.
The attacker had packed explosives inside his turban and entered
Hashmat Karzai's house for Eid greetings in Kandahar province.
He detonated the bomb while greeting Karzai, provincial police
spokesman Zia-ur-Rahman Durrani said.
The incident occurred on the second day of Eid, which marks end of
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hashmat Khalil Karzai was an influential member of the provincial
council. He supported presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai in
the disputed election this year.
President Karzai survived an attempt on his life in 2002, while
visiting his home province of Kandahar. One of his bodyguards was
killed in the attack.
In 2011, his younger brother Ahmad Wali Karzai, known as the most
powerful man in the southern region, was shot dead by his bodyguard.