AP photographer's killer sentenced to die

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A Kabul court announced Wednesday that the Afghan police officer charged with killing Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus and wounding veteran AP correspondent Kathy Gannon was convicted and sentenced to death.

It was the first court hearing in the case and, under Afghan law, the verdict and sentence are subject to several stages of review.

Six judges at the Kabul District Court found former Afghan police unit commander Naqibullah guilty of murder and treason over the attack in the southeastern city of Khost as the international journalists prepared to cover the first round of the country's presidential election.

The judges also sentenced Naqibullah, who goes by one name like many other Afghans, to four years in prison for shooting and wounding Gannon in the attack.

Naqibullah, represented by a defense lawyer provided to him by a legal association, argued with the judges before his sentencing, saying at one point that he was "not a normal person." However, judges dismissed his claim after he provided his name, age and the correct date.

Naqibullah also denied judges' claims that he once traveled to Pakistan to be trained by extremists, saying he only received medical care while there.

Afghanistan's president must sign off on any execution order. Naqibullah also may appeal within 15 days to a second court and then ultimately to the country's Supreme Court.

Gannon and Niedringhaus traveled to Khost under the protection of Afghan forces and were at a district police headquarters in a village outside the city April 4 when witnesses say Naqibullah walked up to their hired car, yelled "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," and fired on them in the back seat with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. He surrendered immediately after the attack.

Witness and official accounts have suggested the shooting was not planned. While in court Tuesday, Naqibullah did not offer a reason why he opened fire.

Niedringhaus, 48, an award-winning photographer who had covered conflict zones from the Balkans in the 1990s to Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, died instantly of her wounds. Gannon, 61, a senior correspondent for Afghanistan and Pakistan, suffered three gunshot wounds in the attack. She is still recovering from her injuries.

Also Wednesday, the Afghan intelligence service accused Pakistan of stoking instability by backing militants who stage attacks in Afghanistan.

Spokesman Hasib Sediqi of the National Directorate for Security said recent attacks in Afghanistan were planned in Pakistan, allegedly with the support of the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

Pakistan has denied such accusations in the past.

Sediqi offered no evidence for his claims. He said Pakistan's military campaign against militants in the Waziristan border region had made no progress because the Pakistani intelligence agency had warned the area's Haqqani militants ahead of launching the campaign.

The Haqqani network is an al-Qaida affiliated Taliban group active in Afghanistan and based in Pakistan's North Waziristan region.

"The main Haqqani leadership has been transferred from North Waziristan two weeks before the operation started, using 150 different kinds of vehicles with their weapons and ammunitions by the direct order of Pakistani intelligence service," Sediqi said, saying that they moved to Pakistan's Kurram Agency -- where there is no ongoing military operation.

Sediqi said the Pakistani military operation had so far not resulted in the arrest or killing of any major insurgent leader and that the only deaths were from U.S. drone strikes in the same area.

The accusations came as a suicide bomber killed one policeman and wounded three in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province.

Police spokesman Sarwar Hussaini said the bomber, who was on foot, targeted the Chardara police district chief in Kunduz city.

Violence has been growing in recent months as U.S.-led foreign forces have been steadily withdrawing ahead of a full pullout of all combat forces at the end of the year.

A bilateral security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan, and another to follow with NATO, has been delayed until a new president is elected. Election official are now auditing the results of a second round of voting between former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

If signed, the U.S. and its allies will leave a small force of trainers and advisers in the country.

Information for this article was contributed by David Rising and staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/24/2014

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