The chief negotiator in charge of peace talks in Afghanistan has been assassinated at his home in the capital Kabul in a major blow to the peace process in the war-torn country.

Former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani died when a suicide bomber claiming to be a Taliban negotiator detonated explosives hidden in his turban.

The bomb was detonated as the attacker hugged Professor Rabbani - the head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council established last year by president Hamid Karzai - in greeting.

The attacker and an accomplice had been invited into Professor Rabbani's Kabul home because it was thought they were emissaries bringing special messages from the Taliban.

Professor Rabbani was in charge of the difficult and dangerous negotiations between the government and its opponents, including the Taliban.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai, has condemned the assassination and cut short his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The attack comes only a week after insurgents launched an audacious attack on the US embassy and International Security Assistance Force headquarters in the capital.

Afghanistan correspondent Sally Sara says the attack has raised renewed questions about security in the Afghan capital.

A week ago the insurgents struck a building next to the US embassy and also the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force.

They were able to get up high in that building and fire down.

This time they’ve struck Mr Rabbani's compound, which is just at the rear of the US embassy.

This is a worrying sign for security forces that the insurgents have yet again been able to get into this district.

The High Peace Council has made little clear progress towards peace talks with the Taliban and Professor Rabbani's assassination seems to have dealt a serious blow to its chances of doing so any time soon.

Professor Rabbani's supporters regarded him as a wise scholar, but his critics accused him of human rights abuses.

News of his death reached Mr Karzai at the UN headquarters in New York just before he held talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama.

But Mr Karzai, along with the United States and other countries, insisted the peace process would not be derailed.

"He was among the few people in Afghanistan with the distinction that we cannot easily find in societies. A terrible loss, but as you rightly said this would not deter us from continuing the path that we have," he said.

Mr Obama said the killing was a "senseless act of violence" that would not crush the Afghan drive for freedom while NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen added that those behind the killing "will not prevail."

Kabul criminal investigations chief Mohammad Zaher said two men "negotiating with Rabbani on behalf of the Taliban" arrived at his house, one with explosives hidden in his turban.

"He approached Rabbani and detonated his explosives. Professor Rabbani was martyred and four others including Massom Stanikzai (his deputy) were injured."

A member of the High Peace Council, Fazel Karim Aymaq, said the men had come with "special messages" from the Taliban and were "very trusted."

"One of them put his head on the shoulder of Rabbani and detonated the explosives hidden in his turban, martyring Rabbani," he added.

Police said three others including, Mr Stanikzai, were also injured in the attack. Interior ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddqui said Mr Stanikzai's condition was "better and we hope he will recover."

The Taliban were not immediately reachable for comment, but the insurgency led by its militia has hit Kabul increasingly hard in recent months.

There are 140,000 international troops in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, mainly from the US and under NATO command, but all combat forces are due to leave by the end of 2014.

Professor Rabbani's house where the bomber struck is very close to the US embassy, making it the second attack within a week in Kabul's supposedly secure diplomatic zone.

Last week, 14 people died in a 19-hour siege targeting the embassy.

Security forces are bracing for further insurgent attacks in the capital.

Professor Rabbani, 71, was president of Afghanistan from 1992 until the Taliban took power in 1996 during the country's civil war.

Mr Karzai's brainchild, the High Peace Council was intended to open a dialogue with insurgents who have been trying to bring down his government since the US-led invasion overthrew their regime but has seen little success.

The 68-member council, hand-picked by the president, was inaugurated in October 2010.

Delivering his acceptance speech, Professor Rabbani said he was "confident" that peace was possible, according to a statement from the palace.

"I hope we are able to take major steps in bringing peace and fulfil our duties with tireless effort and help from God," he was quoted as saying.

According to Human Rights Watch, Professor Rabbani was among prominent Afghans implicated in war crimes during the brutal fighting that killed or displaced hundreds of thousands of Afghans in the early 1990s.

Top Afghan peace negotiator killed in bomb attack - well, he wasn't much of a negotiator, was he?

It is truth, my dear. This is very heavy burden indeed.

Note the last lines.

Leave your hope in the Gud of Jacob, friend. Have no hopes in this world. Only in paradise shall your hopes bear fruit, friend, or in hell.

Soren wrote on Sep 21^st, 2011 at 12:11pm:


I suppose it would be too much to expect they'll break off negotiations with thse dogs and step up wiping them out?

Quote:


criminals, warlords, drug barons, tyrants and dictators