Karzai buries slain brother in Kandahar

Thousands of people have joined Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai for the funeral of his half-brother who was assassinated on Tuesday. The president, tribal leaders and government officials attended a prayer service in the provincial capital, Kandahar, and then traveled to the family's ancestral home village of Karz for the funeral. Several tribal leaders, lawmakers and cabinet ministers also took part in the funeral. Ahmed Wali Karzai was gunned down by one of his closest confidants at his home in Kandahar. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for his killing. Shortly after the funeral, the president held a solemn press conference. "My message for [the Taliban] is that my countryman, my brother, stop killing your own people," said Karzai. "It's easy to kill and everyone can do it, but the real man is the one who can save people's lives." The high-profile killing has left a political vacuum in the country's troubled south, a hotbed of militancy and a launchpad for attacks on American forces in Afghanistan. Civilian and foreign casualties are at record levels despite the presence of around 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.