Taliban Governor Murdered

A lone gunman shot and killed the governor of Afghanistan's Taliban-ruled northern Kunduz province Tuesday as he was vacationing in Pakistan.

His bodyguard also was killed, police said.

Gov. Arif Khan, 45, died when the assailant opened fire with an assault rifle on his vehicle in Peshawar, 30 miles east of the Afghan border. Two people were wounded.

No one has claimed responsibility for the daytime shooting. Police said they are investigating but so far have no suspects.

"Many rival Afghan factions are based in Peshawar. We suspect that any one of them could be involved in the killing," said Tariq Khan, a police spokesman.

Located about 150 miles north of the Afghan capital of Kabul, Kunduz province borders opposition-controlled Takhar province, where the Taliban are fighting bloody battles with their rivals in a bid to capture the area.

The Kunduz governor also is a senior member of the Taliban army and has led several assaults on opposition territory in Takhar province. It is not clear whether the anti-Taliban alliance was involved in the shooting.

The Taliban rule almost 90 percent of Afghanistan, including Kabul, and are fighting the opposition on several fronts to extend their rule over the entire country.