Blast kills former Afghan president

The Afghan government says former President Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed in a suicide bomb attack in the capital Kabul on Tuesday evening.

Afghan police say that a major explosion occurred near Rabbani's home shortly before 6:30 PM.

A government spokesperson told NHK that the perpetrator exploded a bomb he was carrying when he visited Rabbani. He said the blast killed the former president.

Rabbani was elected president in 1992 and was ousted by the Taliban when the Islamist militant group took power 4 years later.

Rabbani headed the country's high peace council that was set up by President Hamid Karzai to negotiate with the Taliban.

Kabul was rocked by a series of attacks last week that killed more than 10 people. The US Embassy and international forces were among the targets.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 01:07 +0900 (JST)