Afghan assassination sparks bloodbath

Mar. 21, 2004. 12:35 PM (GMT -5)
Reports indicate that gunmen killed Mirwais Sadiq, Afghanistan�s aviation minister, in an ambush in the western city of Herat. This is the third leading figure from Karzai's U.S.-backed interim administration to be assassinated.

points from the news articles:

Attackers killed Afghanistan�s aviation minister in the western city of Herat today, and factional fighting that followed killed as many as 100 people, Herat�s senior military commander said.

Fighting has broken out between rival militias following the assassination, and unconfirmed reports speak of scores of deaths and injuries.

Afghan state television earlier said that Ismail Khan, father of the aviation minister and Governor of Herat, was targeted in a separate attack, but the presidential spokesman has denied this. Herat has been under the control of Ismail Khan, a former anti-Soviet resistance commander who runs a large private army, since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. Reports suggest the attack is the result of factional differences and is not tied to the Taliban or al Qaeda. Troops loyal to the governor have surrounded the home of a senior military commander and a militia barracks in the city.

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[Edited on 21-3-2004 by Spectre]

CNN is now reporting that the death of Aviation Minister Mirwais Sadiq occurred while he was leading an retaliatory strike against Afghan government forces that he believed were responsible for the assassination attempt on his father.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad said Aviation Minister Mirwais Sadiq was leading an attack on government forces when he was killed. According to reports on state-run Kabul TV, Sadiq was killed along with three other people when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired on their vehicle

Afghanistan's government was sending additional troops to the region to bring an end to the clashes, Samad told CNN. "There will be an attempt to secure a cease-fire as soon as possible," he said.

CNN


[Edited on 21-3-2004 by Spectre]