Kandahar mayor killed in suicide attack

Kandahar, July 27 (ANI): The mayor of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province was killed in a suicide attack on Wednesday morning, officials said.

Mayor Ghulam Haidar Hameedi died when a suicide bomber set off explosives hidden in his turban, while he was addressing locals in the courtyard of the city hall, The News reports.

The mayor was about to speak in a pre-planned meeting with a group of elders when the bomber triggered off an explosion, a police official said.

Poice confirmed that Hameedi was killed in the explosion, one person was injured.

Nearly two weeks ago, a Taliban suicide bomber targeted a mourning ceremony held for the slain brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a Kandahar mosque. He, too, had hidden explosives in his turban.

Hameedi had been mentioned as a person to replace President Hamid Karzai's powerful half brother Ahmad Wali Karzai, who was gunned down by a close associate on July 12. (ANI)