Former Bamiyan governor assassinated

Maulavi Mohammed Islam Mohammadi, who was the Taliban's governor of Bamiyan province when the fifth-century Buddha statues were blown up with dynamite and artillery in March 2001, was killed on his way to Friday prayers in Kabul, said Zulmai Khan, Kabul's deputy police chief.

Mohammadi was elected in 2005 to represent the northern province of Samangan in Afghanistan's parliament.

After he was elected, Mohammadi said he should not be held responsible for the destruction of the statues, which the Taliban considered to be idolatrous and anti-Muslim.

``It was foreigners like Chechens and Arabs with the Taliban who made the decision. They were crazy people,'' Mohammadi told The Associated Press at the time. ``Even though I was governor, I had no power.''

Posted by David on January 26, 2007 2:24 PM