AFGHANISTAN: Five Afghan security officials were killed in Kabul yesterday when a suicide bomber they had detained blew himself up. The attack overshadowed a debate that will finalise the country's post-Taliban constitution. The car in which the six men were sitting was demolished.
"Altogether six people were killed," said Dr Gulbuddin of the Defence Ministry. "We believe Dr Jalal, head of (Defence Minister Mohammad Qasim) Fahim's personal security, was killed when the terrorist that was caught set off explosive devices he had attached to his body."
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, although police said their initial suspicion was that the bomber was foreign.
Nor was it clear why the bomber had been detained.
Remnants of the ousted Taliban, believed to have links with extremists in the region including al-Qaeda, said they would disrupt a constitutional Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly, in Kabul as part of a "holy war" on foreign forces and the US-backed government.
All 502 delegates, more than 100 of them women, gathered at the Loya Jirga's giant white tent yesterday for a final debate on amendments to a draft constitution. The session was short-lived, however, after delegates refused to discuss changes to the draft without having them in print first. The assembly is due to resume today when copies of the amendments will be available.
The most contentious issue during two weeks of occasionally rowdy debate has been the sweeping presidential powers outlined in the draft document, which paves the way for the country's first democratic elections next June.