Former Taliban leader killed, say police

Gunmen riding on a motorcycle opened fire on a former regional Taliban leader in south-western Pakistan today, killing him before fleeing, police said.

Mullah Samad Barakzai, who was head of the Department for Promotion of Virtue And Prevention of Vice in southern Helmand province during the Taliban’s hardline rule, was standing near a seminary in Quetta when the assailants attacked him, said Qazi Abdul Wahid, an area police chief.