News - Afghanistan

Three members of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's advisor Amanullah Zadran were killed Monday morning by a roadside bomb blast in eastern Paktia province, local officials said.

The improvised explosive device (IED) detonated when the vehicle usually used by Zadran hit the hidden bomb in the road in the provincial capital Gardiz, provincial spokesman Rohullah Samoon said.

"Mr Zadran's brother, nephew and cousin were killed in today's incident, when their vehicle struck a roadside mine," he said.
"Amanullah Zadran was not on the vehicle when the blast took place in city," he added.

Zadran was a former Taliban leader when the Islamist group was in power, but defected after the Nato-led mission forced the group out. He was briefly the Minister for Tribal and Border Affairs from 2001 to 2002.

Most recently, Zadran has been an advisor to Karzai for eastern areas of the country.

No group, including the Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Insurgents frequently use IEDs to target Afghan and Nato troops in the country, but many of the victims are civilians.

A recently released United Nations' report said that in the first half of 2012 at least 882 Afghan civilians were killed by "anti-government elements" and a further 1,593 were wounded. UN statistics show that IEDs were responsible for 29 per cent of these casualties.