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Gunmen kill Afghan MP in Kandahar | Gunmen kill Afghan MP in Kandahar |
(about 4 hours later) | |
An Afghan member of parliament has been assassinated in Kandahar province, officials have said. | An Afghan member of parliament has been assassinated in Kandahar province, officials have said. |
Habibullah Jan was shot dead after visiting an Afghan army base in Zhari district, where Taleban militants have been active, the officials said. | Habibullah Jan was shot dead after visiting an Afghan army base in Zhari district, where Taleban militants have been active, the officials said. |
Separately, in Helmand province, officials said 10 Taleban died when their own bomb exploded prematurely. | |
Elsewhere, US and Afghan officials gave conflicting reports of an air strike which locals said left 22 people dead. | |
Mr Jan was reported to be the 10th MP to be killed since parliament was elected in 2005, following the expulsion of the Taleban from power. | |
He was a military commander in the Zhari area, having fought against Soviet occupation in the 1980s, before being elected to parliament. | |
Police said 10 Taleban militants were killed late on Friday when a roadside bomb they were trying to plant, near the town of Musa Qala, exploded. | |
They said a militant commander, Mullah Jabar, was among the dead. | |
Roadside bombs have become an increasingly deadly weapon used by the militants against Afghan and coalition forces in Afghanistan. | |
Doubts over victims | |
Meanwhile, Afghan officials said those killed in the US missile attack in eastern Nuristan province were civilians, while the US said only militants were killed. | |
The US military said in a statement that militants had fired mortars at troops from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf). | The US military said in a statement that militants had fired mortars at troops from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf). |
"The militants were moving in two vehicles when coalition attack helicopters were used to destroy [them] killing the combatants," the US statement said. | "The militants were moving in two vehicles when coalition attack helicopters were used to destroy [them] killing the combatants," the US statement said. |
It said there were no reports of civilian casualties, without giving any other details of militant casualties. | It said there were no reports of civilian casualties, without giving any other details of militant casualties. |
Afghan officials said civilians were in the two vehicles and that 22 people were killed, including a woman and a child. | Afghan officials said civilians were in the two vehicles and that 22 people were killed, including a woman and a child. |
"The civilians were evacuating the district as they were told by the US-led troops to do so because they wanted to launch an operation against the Taleban," a district chief in Nuristan province, Zia-ul Rahman, said. | "The civilians were evacuating the district as they were told by the US-led troops to do so because they wanted to launch an operation against the Taleban," a district chief in Nuristan province, Zia-ul Rahman, said. |
There are about 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, most of them serving under Nato's Isaf command. | There are about 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, most of them serving under Nato's Isaf command. |
More than 8,000 people were estimated to have been killed in insurgent-related violence in Afghanistan last year - the most since the Taleban were toppled in 2001 - Associated Press news agency said. | More than 8,000 people were estimated to have been killed in insurgent-related violence in Afghanistan last year - the most since the Taleban were toppled in 2001 - Associated Press news agency said. |