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| Former Afghan king to be buried | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Afghanistan is preparing to bury its last king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, who died on Monday aged 92. | |
| Flags are at half mast during three days of mourning for the former monarch, who returned from exile in 2002, 29 years after being deposed. | |
| Meanwhile, there has been fresh violence in the country, with six members of the Nato-led force being killed, officials say. | Meanwhile, there has been fresh violence in the country, with six members of the Nato-led force being killed, officials say. |
| Scores of Taleban rebels have also reportedly been killed in fighting. | |
| The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kabul says many see the former king as a symbol of the national unity since lost amid violence. | |
| TV tributes | TV tributes |
| Television and radio stations in Afghanistan are broadcasting Islamic recitations interspersed with tributes to the ex-king. | Television and radio stations in Afghanistan are broadcasting Islamic recitations interspersed with tributes to the ex-king. |
| These include old footage of Zahir Shah's 40-year reign, which began in the year Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. | |
| Our correspondent says the king's period on the throne is now recalled as a time of peace in Afghanistan. | |
| Afghan and Nato troops have recently been in heavy fighting | Afghan and Nato troops have recently been in heavy fighting |
| The former king will be buried in a hilltop shrine in Kabul next to his late wife and other members of the royal family in a ceremony attended by foreign and Afghan dignitaries. | The former king will be buried in a hilltop shrine in Kabul next to his late wife and other members of the royal family in a ceremony attended by foreign and Afghan dignitaries. |
| The new British Foreign Secretary, David Milliband, is among those who will attend. He flew into Kabul earlier on Tuesday on his first official trip abroad in his new post. | |
| Police and foreign troops in the capital, Kabul, have stepped up security ahead of the state funeral, occupying high points which could be used by militants to mortar bomb the ceremony. | |
| The Nato-led force says that four of the six troops who died in the latest fighting on Monday were victims of a bomb blast. | The Nato-led force says that four of the six troops who died in the latest fighting on Monday were victims of a bomb blast. |
| Not all the nationalities are known, but Norway says it has lost one special forces soldier. | Not all the nationalities are known, but Norway says it has lost one special forces soldier. |
| The US-led coalition, which operates alongside the Nato-led force, says that it and Afghan troops killed more than 80 Taleban rebels in clashes in southern Helmand province. | |
| Afghan officials have mentioned 30 insurgent deaths. | Afghan officials have mentioned 30 insurgent deaths. |
| The claims cannot be independently confirmed. | |
| The Taleban have meanwhile further extended a deadline for demands to be met for the release of 23 South Korean hostages. | The Taleban have meanwhile further extended a deadline for demands to be met for the release of 23 South Korean hostages. |