World

Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wesa Unhurt in Assassination Attempt

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | November 27, 2009 at 03:41 am

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Tooryalai Wesa left Afghanistan in 1991 after serving as Kandahar University's first president. He worked at the University of British Columbia's agricultural expert in Canada.

Hamid Karzai asked him to serve as governor of Kandahar province in support of his government. Wesa accepted the position and left the safety and security of his Canadian job in the hope of providing a better life to this former people. Wesa grew up in the Kandahar area.

Wesa was on his way to a mosque for prayers to mark the Muslim holiday Eil-el Adha when a roadside bomb was detonated by remote control. The incident happened happened near the centre of he city.

The governor was unhurt but his vehicle was damaged and one policeman was injured.

This incident shows how volatile the situation still is in the southern province of Kandahar.

The Afghan-Canadian governor of Kandahar province in the volatile south of Afghanistan survived a Friday assassination attempt, a local official said.

Governor Tooryalai Wesa was on his way to a mosque in Kandahar City for prayers to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

A remote-control roadside bomb detonated as the governor's three-car convoy passed by in the centre of the city, said Zelmai Ayubi, a spokesman for Wesa.

Ayubi said the governor was unhurt, but his vehicle was damaged and one policeman was wounded.

Wesa grew up near Kandahar City. He served as Kandahar University's first president until he left the country in 1991