Accessibility links

Breaking News

Former Afghan Minister Ismail Khan Escapes Suicide Attack


Afghanistan -- Former Islamist warlord, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf (C) sits with his two vice-presidential candidates, Mohammad Ismail Khan (L) and Abdul Wahab Erfan during a registration process for the forthcoming presidential elections at the Independent Elect
Afghanistan -- Former Islamist warlord, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf (C) sits with his two vice-presidential candidates, Mohammad Ismail Khan (L) and Abdul Wahab Erfan during a registration process for the forthcoming presidential elections at the Independent Elect
HERAT, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's former minister of water and energy, Muhammad Ismail Khan, has escaped an apparent assassination attempt.

Ismail Khan was at the entrance to a mosque in the western city of Herat when a suicide bomber detonated explosives nearby.

The head of the provincial council in Herat, Dawood Qattali, told RFE/RL that Khan, who was attending Friday Prayers on January 24, was not injured.

The only casualty was the suicide bomber. Khan, 67, is a former warlord who came to prominence during the 1979-89 Soviet war in Afghanistan. He is a nominee for vice president, running on a ticket with Abdurrab Rasul Sayaf, one of 11 candidates in Afghanistan's upcoming presidential election in April.

In 2009, Khan survived a suicide attack in Herat that killed four of his bodyguards.
XS
SM
MD
LG