Suicide blast kills Afghan tribal chief in Nangarhar

[Robb]

Source: BBC

A suicide bomber has killed an influential Afghan tribal chief and 14 other people in eastern Nangarhar province, officials say.

Mohammad Haji Zaman was a powerful mujahideen warlord during the Afghan civil war in the 1990s. He led tribal forces in the Tora Bora region during the 2001 US-led Afghan invasion but is suspected of allowing al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden to flee. No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mohammad Haji Zaman - also known as Haji Zaman Gamsurek - was addressing a gathering of refugees in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar when the blast went off.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8528545.stm

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Interesting character. Fled Afghanistan after Tora Bora, been living in Pakistan until lately. Came back to Af last summer IIRC to contest the parliamentary polls.

Some old news here: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/28/inv.bin.laden.location/index.html