Blast kills former Afghan president

Former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed in a suicide bomb attack in the capital Kabul on Tuesday. Rabbani had been the key negotiator with the Taliban.

The Afghan government says that at 5:45 PM, a man exploded a bomb he was hiding when he visited Rabbani at his home to discuss peace with the Taliban. The blast killed the former president.

Rabbani was elected president in 1992 and was ousted by the Taliban when the Islamist militant group took power 4 years later.

Rabbani headed the country's high peace council that was set up by President Hamid Karzai to negotiate with the Taliban.

Karzai was in the United States to attend a UN General Assembly meeting. But he cut short his trip and headed home, after issuing a statement denouncing terrorism.

US President Barack Obama called Rabbani's death a 'tragic loss' when he met Karzai in New York. Obama also pledged continued support to help bring stability to Afghanistan.