Afghanistan's Karzai Buries his Brother

On July 13, Afghan President Hamid Karzai led thousands in funeral prayers for his half-brother whose death on July 12 has left a power gap in the unstable southern province of Kandahar.

Ahmad Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful and influential men in southern Afghanistan, was killed by his long-serving bodyguard in house in Kandahar.

His death along with a series of assassinations of officials in the city in recent months is being seen as illustrative of the insurgency by the Taliban militants.

Mr. Karzai's power base came from his tribal and family background and the fortune he accumulated.

In his lifetime he was accused of acquiring his fortune from the illicit drug trade and having links to the CIA; charges he strongly denied and which the Afghan president says have never been proven.