Will the Islamophobia never end? “Kandahar mayor killed by suicide bomber with explosives in turban,” by Jon Boone in the Guardian, July 27 (thanks to Bill):
Afghan insurgents appeared to continue their assassination campaign against key public figures on Wednesday with the killing of the mayor of Kandahar.
Ghulam Haider Hamidi was targeted by a suicide bomber who got into the municipality compound in Kandahar City with explosives concealed under his turban. The technique was first used earlier this month in a mosque in the city during a memorial service for Ahmed Wali Karzai, a regional strongman and half-brother of the president.
Abdul Manan, a municipality employee, said the mayor had emerged from his office into the garden, where he made a call on his mobile phone.
The assassin grabbed him and detonated the bomb.
“I rushed outside and saw the mayor was lying still on the ground,” said Manan. “Another headless body was next to him and the mayor had deep wounds on his face and chest.”
The death of Hamidi will raise further concerns about whether military gains by the US military in the Kandahar region, particularly in districts adjoining the city, will be undermined by the remorseless killing of top public figures….