Ahmad Wali Karzai.[File photo]

The local government confirmed that Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother Ahmad Wali Karzai was killed on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

"Ahmad Wali Karzai, the head of Kandahar's Provincial Council and the brother of President Hamid Karzai, was martyred in his house Tuesday morning," a short statement released by Kandahar's provincial administration asserted.

Spokesman for Kandahar's government Zalmai Ayubi also in talks with Xinhua confirmed that Wali Karzai is dead but did not give more details.

Meantime, an official on the condition of anonymity said that the younger Karzai was killed by one of his bodyguards.

The late Wali Karzai, according to the official, used harsh language against the bodyguard which infuriated him and prompted him to shot dead the head of Kandahar's provincial council.