President Gül extends condolences to Afghanistan’s Karzai for loss of cousin

ANKARA

Afghan policemen stand guard near the house of the cousin of outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Hashmat Karzai, at the site of a suicide attack in Kandahar. REUTERS Photo

Turkey’s President Abdullah Gül has sent a condolence message to Afghan President Hamid Karzai whose cousin, a close ally of presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani, was killed in a suicide bomb attack on July 29.

In his message, Gül expressed his sadness to have learned that Hashmat Karzai was killed in a terrorist attack in Kandahar, Anadolu Agency reported July 30.

Hashmat Karzai was hosting an event at his home for the Eid al-Fitr holiday in the southern province of Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold, when a man posing as a guest set off an explosive, the local governor’s office said.

No one else was killed in the attack and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.