Afghan peace council head killed in Kabul

KABUL, (Reuters) – The head of Afghanistan’s High  Peace Council, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who had  been tasked with trying to negotiate a political end to the war,  was killed at his home today, a senior police officer said.  
His residence is in Kabul’s heavily guarded diplomatic  enclave, and the attack came just a week after a 20-hour siege  at the edge of the area sometimes known as the “green zone”.   
“Rabbani has been martyred,” Mohammed Zahir, head of the  Criminal Investigation Department of the Kabul Police, told  Reuters. He had no further details.   
A police source said Masoom Stanekzai, a senior advisor to  President Hamid Karzai, was badly injured in the attack.   
“Masoom Stanekzai is alive but badly wounded,” the police  source, who asked not to be named as he is not authorised to  talk to the media, told Reuters.   
Rabbani, a former leader of a powerful mujahideen party  during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, was  chosen by Karzai to head the High Peace Council last October.   
His plan included offering amnesties and jobs to Taliban foot  soldiers and asylum in third countries to leaders.   
“This is a big blow to peace process and huge loss for  Afghanistan,” said Sadiqa Balkhi, a member of peace council.   
“Professor Rabbani was an influential and spiritual leader  and was successful in luring Taliban fighters into peace  process.”   
Rabbani served as president in the 1990s when mujahideen  factions waged war for control of the country after the Soviet  withdrawal.   
The assassination comes a week after a 20-hour gun and  grenade attack that on Kabul’s diplomatic enclave by insurgents,  and three suicide bomb attacks on other parts of the city —  together the longest-lasting and most wide-ranging assault on the city.    
Last week’s siege was the third major attack on the Afghan  capital since June and included three suicide bombing in other  parts of the city. At least five policemen and 11 civilians were  killed.   
All three of those attacks are believed to be the work of  the Haqqani network, a Taliban-allied insurgent faction, based  along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.