Kabul, July 18: Gunmen strapped with explosives killed a close adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a member of parliament on Sunday in another insurgent strike against the Afghan leader's inner circle.
Jan Mohammed Khan was an adviser to Karzai on tribal issues and was close to the president, a fellow Pashtun.
His killing - which the Taliban claimed responsibility for - came less than a week after the assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president's half-brother and one of the most powerful men in southern Afghanistan.
Two men wearing suicide bomb vests and armed with guns attacked Khan's home in the western Kabul district of Karti Char, said a defence ministry official.
Following the attack, there was a police presence near Khan's house on Sunday night and gun shots could be heard.
Khan, who was governor of the Pashtun-dominated Uruzgan province in the south from 2002 until March 2006, was shot along with Uruzgan lawmaker Mohammed Ashim Watanwal, the official said.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the insurgent group.
Mujahid said the Taliban killed Khan because he was assisting coalition forces in carrying out night raids against Afghans.
The controversial raids carried out by NATO forces have been highly effective in capturing or killing hundreds of Taliban fighters and mid-level commanders.
Karzai has complained the raids anger many Afghans who are mistakenly targeted. AP
