Afghan campaign worker shot dead outside his home

KABUL: A prominent campaign worker in Afghanistan´s presidential election was shot dead outside his home in the country´s east, officials said Tuesday. The Taliban denied they were involved in the killing.

Campaign worker Esmatullah, who like many Afghan men uses only one name, was returning home from visiting a friend on Monday afternoon when unknown gunmen opened fire outside his house in Logar province, provincial spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish said.

Esmatullah — known as Commandor Tor for his role in the struggle against the 1990s Soviet occupation — was killed instantly while his two bodyguards were wounded, Darwish said.

Esmatullah worked as an election observer for presidential candidate Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf, a prominent Islamic cleric who is currently running fourth in the race for the top post, according to the partial results that have been released.

A spokesman for Sayyaf´s campaign, Mohammad Fahim Kadamani, confirmed that Esmatullah was an election observer and blamed the Taliban for his death.

But the Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied involvement. He told The Associated Press by telephone on Tuesday that the insurgents would not target Esmatullah because of his high status as a former mujahedeen fighter against the Soviets.

"We respect him. He was a good man," Mujahid said.

The Taliban have unleashed a wave of attacks during the election to replace President Hamid Karzai, who under Afghan law cannot serve a third term.