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 The Swedish Embassy identified the victim as Nils Horner, 51, who
worked for Swedish Radio and had dual British-Swedish nationality.
"Nils was one of our absolute best and most experienced
correspondents and what has happened to him today is terrible," said
Swedish Radio's director-general, Cilla Benkö, who described this as
one of the worst days in the corporation's history.
"We are now trying to get as many details as we can."
Horner had been waiting outside a Lebanese restaurant with his
driver and translator when two men in Western clothes approached and
one shot him at point-blank range in the back of the head, said
Zubir, a guard at the restaurant who uses only one name.
The guard and a nearby shopkeeper said only one shot was fired.
The attack took place barely a minute's walk from the site of
another Lebanese restaurant, where Afghan Taliban fighters killed
eight Afghans and 13 foreigners in January.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, who are seeking to
oust foreign forces and set up an Islamic state, said the group was
unaware of the attack but would investigate.
Hashmatullah Stanekzai, chief spokesman for the Kabul police chief,
said Horner's driver and translator were being questioned but there
were no suspects in custody.
The neighborhood is home to several embassies, supermarkets and
cafes frequented by foreigners. Police vehicles are permanently
stationed at a roundabout a block away and the mansions that line
the road have guards at each gate.
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A daytime attack on a civilian walking in that part of the capital
is highly unusual.
The attack comes as Afghanistan prepares for the withdrawal of NATO
forces and landmark presidential elections scheduled for April 5.
The Taliban have threatened to attack anyone who takes part.
Afghan troops with support from NATO are helping secure the
elections.
A small contingent of Americans may remain behind if the next
government signs a deal to allow them to stay, something President
Hamid Karzai has so far refused to do.
(Additional reporting by Jessica Donati, Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais
Harooni; editing by Nick Macfie)
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