Afghan president,brother-Ahmed Wali Karzai-shot dead

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the younger brother of the Afghan president, was shot dead in the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday, officials said.The killing of his chief local power broker will be a huge loss for President Hamid Karzai in Kandahar, the heartland of the Taliban insurgency as NATO troops rush to start withdrawing combat troops after a decade of war.Initial details were sketchy, with a family friend telling a news agency on condition of anonymity that he was killed by a bodyguard while entertaining guests at home and an Afghan intelligence official saying he was shot dead by a guest.

"We can confirm he has been martyred," Kandahar provincial government spokesman Zalmay Ayubi told a news agency, providing no further details.