Los Angeles Times

A young Afghan graft investigator is killed. Did his U.S.-trained agency fail him?

KABUL, Afghanistan - It was almost dark when Almar Habibzai, clad in his blue-gray police uniform, returned from work Oct. 15 and pulled into the driveway of his family's house in east Kabul.

As the 22-year-old sergeant stepped out of his Toyota Corolla, he did not notice the two men who had followed him up the narrow dirt road on a motorcycle.

When Habibzai's father heard gunfire, he raced out of the house barefoot. His lanky, mop-haired son had been shot three times in the back and was splayed on the ground, oozing blood.

The killers had already disappeared over the hill on their motorcycle.

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