GHAZNI CITY (PAN): A failed candidate for the provincial council has been shot dead by Taliban insurgents in volatile southern Afghanistan, which continues to be haunted by militant-linked violence. The militants gunned down Muhammad Nabi Sharafat in the Muqar district of Ghazni province this morning, an official told Pajhwok Afghan News on Wednesday. Muqar district's administrative head Sahib Khan said the rebels ambushed the candidate's car in the Khanadar village. Sharafat was accompanied by his brother Muhammad Nabi Sharafat and two nephews. Nabi Sharafat, a district police official, and his two sons were wounded in the guerrilla assault. In retaliatory action from police, Khan added, two fighters were killed. Their bodies are still lying at the scene. With the Taliban yet to react to the incident, a resident said the shooting led to an hour-long intense gunfight between the militants and police. According to Abdul Rahim, five villagers have been detained on the charge of complicity in the ambush. mud
