Burhanuddin Rabbani, Afghan Former President and Peace Council Chief Killed

September 20, 2011

Afghan police say a suspected suicide attack has killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, the country's former president tasked with leading peace efforts with the Taliban.

Witnesses say a blast occurred late Tuesday outside the Rabbani's home. It is unclear whether there were any other casualties.

Rabbani led Afghanistan's High Peace Council, which was set up by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to find a political end to the war.

The former president lived in the capital's heavily fortified diplomatic zone, near government buildings and the U.S. Embassy.

Last week, Taliban insurgents launched a nearly 20-hour raid in the area with rocket-propelled grenades, gunfire and explosions. Their coordinated assault targeted the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and police elsewhere in the city. The attack killed 14 people and wounded more than two dozen others.