Violence surrounds Wali Karzai's funeral

I do not know what the big deal is, isn't violence and bombings normal at a Muslim Funeral?


Al Jizeera
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has led mourners at the funeral of Ahmed Wali Karzai, his influential younger half-brother, who was assassinated on Tuesday in Kandahar by a member of his own security team.

Thousands of people gathered on Wednesday morning amid tight security outside the provincial governor's compound where Ahmed Wali's body was kept, with many more piling on to buses headed for the funeral procession to the family village of Karz, about 20km away.

Security forces formed a tight perimeter around the compound and helicopters could be seen circling overhead. Attacks preceeded and followed the funeral.

According to reports, Gulab Mangal, the Governor of Helmand province escaped an explosion near his car on the way to the funeral.

Al Jazeera correspondent Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said: "The governor's spokesman confirmed that this morning when they were driving from Helmand to Kandahar, a roadside landmine, which was just 10 metres from the car, exploded. And two of the governor's bodyguards got injured."

Two explosions were heard in Kandahar city shortly after the funeral, reported Reuters news agency.

It was not immediately clear what caused these blasts, where they happened or whether there were any casualties.

Earlier reports suggested Karzai's elite security team had been deployed to secure the city for the funeral, that was postponed until Wednesday so family members could arrive.