Speaker of north Afghan legislature shot dead

Sayed Sadeq of Takhar province is believed to be the first lawmaker killed since the inauguration of the country's first parliament.

Unidentified gunmen killed the speaker of a northern Afghan provincial legislature early on Saturday after breaking into his home, police said.

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Sayed Sadeq, from northeastern Takhar province, is believed to be the first lawmaker killed since the October inauguration of the war-torn country's first Parliament and provincial councils in more than 30 years.

"He was killed early this morning," Takhar security director Gulam Hazrat told the agency. "We don't yet know who killed him."

Takhar is relatively free of violence linked to a Taliban-led insurgency that sees nearly daily attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

The area is however plagued by rivalry between former commanders in the resistance to the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, some of whom still run private armies.

A UN-backed programme is trying to persuade these commanders to disarm.

Sadeq was a commander before winning the September election for the council.