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Karzai's brother escapes blast
August 19, 2003 16:23 IST
At least two people were said to have been injured in an explosion Tuesday at the Kandahar home of the younger brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Witnesses said Ahmad Wali Karzai had left his home in the main southern city of Kandahar just minutes before the blast around 11:20 AM local time.
As fire engines battled the blaze, policemen kept people away from the house. But while some reports quoted witnesses as saying two people were removed to hospital, others said no one one was injured.
Dismissing earlier police reports that the explosion was caused by a bomb, a presidential spokesman clarified that there had been an accidental detonation of explosive materials kept in the compound.
"It wasn't a bomb that exploded in the house. Some munitions accidentally went off. It was just ... a servant who was moving small arms munitions and it suddenly for some reason exploded," spokesman Jawid Luddin told a news agency.