Afghan peace council head Rabbani killed in attack

Mr Rabbani was killed at his home by a suicide attacker who officials believe had concealed a bomb in his turban.

He was meeting members of the Taliban at the time. The council leads Afghan efforts to negotiate with the Taliban.

Mr Rabbani is a former president of Afghanistan and also led the main political opposition in the country.

A senior adviser to the peace council, Masoom Stanakzai, is also thought to have been seriously wounded in the attack.

On hearing the news Afghan President Hamid Karzai decided to cut short his visit to the US but briefly met President Barack Obama, who condemned the killing as a "tragic loss". Both men reinforced their determination to continue the quest for peace.

President Karzai said: "This is a sad day for us in Afghanistan but a day of unity and day of continuity for our efforts."

Abdullah Abdullah, the leader of the opposition in the Afghan parliament, said Mr Rabbani's killing was "a big loss for all the people of Afghanistan", describing the former president as a man who "strove until his last breath to bring peace".

Nato and the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) condemned the attack, with Isaf commander Gen John R Allen saying that "the face of the peace initiative has been attacked".

'Special message'

Mr Rabbani's residence is in a prosperous district of Kabul, on the edge of a high security area close to the US embassy and the district where the Taliban launched a 20-hour attack last week, leaving 25 dead.

The attack is likely to fuel concerns over security in the capital. Security forces have closed off a number of streets in the district and the police are out in force, reports say; Kazinform cites BBC.

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