Afghan MP shot dead, 10 Taliban killed laying landmine

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) — Unidentified gunmen shot dead a member of parliament in troubled southern Afghanistan while 10 Taliban were killed laying a landmine, Afghan officials told AFP Saturday.

Legislator Habibullah Jan was shot dead by unknown gunmen while driving in his troubled home district of Zharai in Kandahar province late Friday, district government Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi said.

The legislator, aged around 55, was ambushed soon after leaving the home of one of his wives, residents said.

Jan was also the head of Kandahar's prominent Alizai tribe and a former commander of the 1979-1989 anti-Soviet resistance.

The interior ministry said it was investigating who was behind the assassination.

A spokesman for the Taliban insurgent...