Kandahar Mayor Killed In Suicide Bomb Attack

The mayor of Kandahar, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, has been assassinated after a suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden in his turban, according to local reports.

"The suicide bomber put explosives inside his turban," said deputy police chief Sher Shah Yousafzai.

"As soon as the mayor came to work, the attacker detonated his explosives."

Bismullah Afghan Mal, a member of the upper house of parliament from Kandahar, confirmed the mayor's death.

The mayor is the second high-ranking official to have been slain this month in the southern Taliban stronghold.

His death follows the murder of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's half-brother Ahmed Wali Karzai .

Mr Hamidi had been earmarked as a possible replacement for the president's brother, who was gunned down by a close associate on July 12 in his heavily fortified home.

The method of Wednesday's attack at a government building, using a bomb concealed in a turban, was also used inside the Red Mosque in Kandahar two days later.

That bomb killed four people including a senior cleric during the funeral service of Mr Karzai.

The recent spate of attacks indicates a power struggle in Afghanistan 's second-largest city and has raised doubts about the strength of the president's support in the south.

A local official said a civilian was also killed in the latest bombing, while another civilian and a security guard were wounded in the explosion.

The mayor had travelled on Tuesday to a district in the city where there was a dispute about the construction of houses, Kandahar police officials said.

The attacker infiltrated a group that arrived on Wednesday to discuss the issue with the mayor.