Turkey rejoices at female crowd

More than 43,000 female fans turned up to watch Turkish side Fenerbahce play.As many as 43,000 mostly female fans watch Fenerbahce play Manisaspor in IstanbulMale fans had been banned because of a pitch invasion last JulyTurkish football has been mired in a match fixing scandal Club vice-president Ali Koc tells CNN's Pedro Pinto the match was "historic"

(CNN) -- The football world hadn't seen anything quite like it before.

On Tuesday night the Turkish giants of Fenerbahce took on Manisaspor in Istanbul in what should have been an empty stadium.

A pitch invasion by Fenerbahce's notoriously boisterous fans during a friendly in July had forced the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) to ban the male supporters from attending two games as punishment.

Instead as many as 43,000 women and children took advantage of free tickets to fill the stands with songs, banners and passion every bit as intense as their male compatriots.

"This atmosphere was one of the kind and historic in the sense of Turkish football as well as international football," Fenerbahce's vice-president Ali Koc told CNN's Pedro Pinto.

"The women of Fenerbahce sports club have shown us what they can do for their club, what they can do for Turkish football and I think this was an event that was exemplary for sports."

We're disappointed we couldn't send the ladies home with a victory
Fenerbahce vice-president Ali Koc

Fenerbahce won last year's Turkish championship but a cloud has hung over the club since allegations of match fixing came to light during the summer.

Several of Turkey's highest profile football figures have been arrested during the investigations which lead to the TFF withdrawing Fenerbahce from this year's UEFA Champions League group stage draw.

Tuesday night's match was going to be another night of shame for Turkish football, until the TFF allowed children under 12 and an accompanying adult to attend 24 hours before kick off.

By the next morning thousands of women in Fenerbahce shirts lined up for tickets and images were beamed across the globe of what was surely the highest female attendance at a men's match in world football. It was a good news story for Fenerbahce just when Turkish football needed it.

"Tuesday night we had 43,000 fans in the stadium," Koc told CNN.

"As you know the club is going through some troubled times with allegations of match fixing...The fans have gone beyond the call of duty to embrace the club and fight for the rights of the club."

According to Koc Fenerbahce has long pursued a more family-friendly approach and regularly attract up to 8,000 women, around 20 per cent of the crowd.

"Lot of songs, a lot of chanting and solidarity," Koc replied when asked how the atmosphere differed to a typical match day.

"A man has less patience waiting in line for tickets. Coming to the stadium of course men are lot more loud and more synchronized but the women were a lot more passionate and a lot more encouraging."

But the crowd was not rewarded with the victory that their efforts demanded. The match ended 1-1 but for Koc the effects will last long after the final whistle.

"I think it's important for Turkey because we [were] a candidate to host the World Cup, Olympics, European Championships and these committees are all sensitive to the abilities of the organizing host country to fill the stadiums [and] in this direction it was a big positive."

"We're disappointed we couldn't send the ladies home with a victory."

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Polish paintings, stolen by Nazis, repatriated in New York

Stolen paintings by Julian Falat were returned to Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski during an event Thursday in New York.NEW: Polish president praises ICE agents "for everything you have done"Paintings by Julian Falat were stolen by the Nazis during occupation of PolandThe works are returned in a ceremony at the Polish Consulate in NYC

New York (CNN) -- Seven decades after Nazi forces looted the National Museum in Warsaw during World War II, two paintings by treasured Polish artist Julian Falat were repatriated in a ceremony Thursday night, according to a statement from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The cultural artifacts were returned to Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski during the event at the Polish Consulate in New York City.

Komorowski presented the Presidential Medal to ICE Special Agent Lennis Barrois and retired Special Agent Bonnie Goldblatt in honor of their investigative work leading to the paintings' repatriation.

The president said, "Behind every person who is here, we can find a very difficult history ... very difficult ties, tangled Polish-American ties.

"It is so good in difficult histories we were able to develop very good, strong relations between our nations. I want to thank you for your good actions, for everything you have done."

The oil-on-panels by Falat (1853-1929), both winter scenes, "are two magnificent and very important pieces of art," said Bogdan Zdrojewski, minister of culture and national heritage, in an official statement.

"Off to the Hunt" which features bundled hunters against a snowy woods backdrop, was originally displayed at the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw November 1901 before it was sold to a private owner, given back to the society, and then transferred to the Polish National Museum in December 1939, the ICE news release stated.

"The Hunt," a wintry panorama with a sun-kissed glaze, was originally owned by Ludwik Norblin before it was endowed to the same fine arts society, and later moved to the national museum, the ICE news release stated.

Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, and during the occupation of Warsaw the paintings were taken.

The paintings were missing until 2006, when they were discovered by Polish officials at an auction in New York, according to the ICE press release.

A complaint filed in federal court last December claimed they were taken from the national museum by Benne Von Arent, an SS lieutenant colonel, in 1944, according to press release from Manhattan U.S Attorney's office.

"No one can ever provide just compensation to the victims of the Nazis' atrocities, but it is very gratifying for our office to play a role in returning the art that they looted during World War II to its rightful owners," New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

Since 2007, the U.S. customs agency has repatriated more than 2,500 items to more than 22 countries.

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Yemen sees fresh clashes as mediation fails

Protests in Ibb on September 19 against the deadly clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in Sanaa.NEW: One person dies when an airstrike hits a residenceAt least four other people are killed and dozens are wounded, medics sayYemen has faced months of demonstrations against the presidentA regional effort at peacemaking ends without result

(CNN) -- Government security forces fired on protesters in Yemen's capital Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, medical sources at a hospital near the city's Change Square said.

In addition, a fifth person died when an airstrike hit the residence of opposition leader Himyar Ahmed, the deputy speaker of parliament, according to eyewitnesses. The person killed was a supporter, the witnesses said, and 13 others were injured.

Sniper bullets killed four people in the square, according to a senior medical staffer at the Change Square field hospital who asked not to be identified for security reasons. The square has been the center of months of demonstrations against longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The four included two women who were shot in the square earlier, five witnesses said.

Nine other protesters were shot by Republican Guard forces using artillery outside the square, with three of the injured in critical condition, medics on the scene said.

The government did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment.

The violence came a day after funerals were held for 30 people killed in protests this week.

Senior members of the opposition were among more than 500,000 opposition supporters to attend the funerals, witnesses said.

At least 87 protesters were killed from Sunday to Wednesday, opposition sources said, and organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty International pleaded for calm.

Yemen has been convulsed by months of demonstrations against Saleh.

A regional envoy's effort at mediation ended Wednesday with no clear result.

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdul Latif al-Zayyani left Yemen Wednesday, failing to convince the ruling General People Congress party to sign a GCC proposal to transfer power.

The umbrella opposition group the Joint Meeting Parties refused to officially meet al-Zayyani for dialogue, saying that the ball is in the government's court and that the JMP has already agreed and signed the proposal.

"We did everything asked from us and any dialogue will only stall more time for this oppressive regime," said Mohammed Qahtan, the spokesman for the JMP.

"The GCC is not being fair when dealing with the Yemen crisis. It needs to tell the wrongdoer that he is wrong and save the country from further deaths and catastrophes," Qahtan added.

-- CNN's Kamal Ghattas and journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.

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Freed hiker: 'So relieved we are free'

Josh Fattal: 'So relieved we are free'NEW: U.N. secretary-general appreciates Iranian actionLoved ones welcome the freed American hikers in OmanPresident Barack Obama says he is thrilled by news of the men's releaseThe $1 million bail is paid by the Omani government, their attorney says

Muscat, Oman (CNN) -- American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer bounded down the steps of the aircraft that took them from Iran to Oman late Wednesday, rushing into the arms of loved ones who had sought their freedom for more than two years.

The pair, released earlier in the day from an Iranian prison, arrived in Muscat, the capital of Oman.

Their families and hiker Sarah Shourd -- who was arrested with them but freed last year on medical grounds -- hugged the young men. Shourd is Bauer's fiancee.

Before leaving the Muscat airport for an undisclosed location, Fattal and Bauer released brief statements. They took no questions from reporters.

"We're so happy we are free and so relieved we are free," said Fattal. "Our deepest gratitude goes toward his majesty Sultan Qaboos of Oman for obtaining our release. We're sincerely grateful for the government of Oman for hosting us and our families."

Bauer said: "Two years in prison is too long and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America and Iran."

The families earlier expressed their joy, relief and gratitude at the pair's release.

"Today can only be described as the best day of our lives," they said in a statement. "We have waited for nearly 26 months for this moment and the joy and relief we feel at Shane and Josh's long-awaited freedom knows no bounds.

"We now all want nothing more than to wrap Shane and Josh in our arms, catch up on two lost years and make a new beginning, for them and for all of us."

President Barack Obama also welcomed the "wonderful news," saying he was thrilled and could not feel happier for the two men's families. He thanked Oman, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the Swiss government for their assistance.

Fattal and Bauer were released earlier Wednesday on bail of $500,000 each and their sentences for spying convictions were commuted, Iran's judiciary said, according to government-run Press TV. The departure of the two from Iran effectively meant the bail money will be forfeited and kept by Iran.

The lawyer for Fattal and Bauer, Masoud Shafiee, told CNN the $1 million bail had been paid by the Omani government.

Fattal spoke with his brother, Alex, by phone after the release, according to a source familiar with the hikers' release who asked not to be identified.

The family has not yet said how long everyone will stay in Oman before heading to the United States.

Shourd is no longer wearing an engagement ring Bauer made from a thread from one of his shirts while they were in prison together because she had lost the ring while traveling round the United States working for the release of her fiance and Fattal, said Samantha Topping, a spokeswoman for the families.

Oman's envoy to Tehran, Salem al Ismaily, earlier said in a statement the pair were in the custody of the Omani government and would spend a couple of days in Muscat "before heading home."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appreciates "the decision of the Iranian authorities to positively respond to international appeals on humanitarian grounds," according to a statement. "He commends all parties who helped to secure their release."

Fattal and Bauer arrived at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport late Wednesday in a convoy of diplomatic cars. The convoy had earlier left the country's notorious Evin Prison through the front gates, accompanied by a police escort, but Bauer and Fattal were not visible.

Swiss and Omani officials had waited outside the prison to receive the Americans. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran because there is no American embassy there, and Oman has acted as a broker between Washington and Tehran in the past.

Oman helped secure the release of Shourd, posting her bail last September, a senior Obama administration official said at the time.

The two men's release comes a day before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is due to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Asked at the United Nations about the news, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, Esfandiar Mashaei, said: "Yes, we were expecting their release, us and the president."

High-profile American Muslims including boxing legend Muhammad Ali had called for their release, and a high-profile delegation of American Christian and Muslim religious leaders met Ahmadinejad in Iran last week to plead for their freedom.

"We were very happy to learn about their release today," said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), who was part of the delegation to Tehran. "We are extremely happy for the hikers, their families and the country."

Bauer and Fattal, both 29, were convicted last month of entering Iran illegally and spying for the United States, and each was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Their attorney, Shafiee, went into the prison earlier Wednesday with paperwork to show that bail had been paid for each of them. A judge had signed the bail papers that morning after several days of delays.

Fattal and Bauer were arrested along with Shourd in July 2009 after apparently straying over an unmarked border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran.

Bauer and Shourd told their families in May last year that they had gotten engaged in prison and planned to get married after their release. Fattal plans to be best man at the wedding, the hikers' relatives said in a statement at the time.

Shourd, in an interview with CNN a year ago, said Bauer had asked her to marry him while they were imprisoned so that they could have something to sustain them through their days in Evin, and give them hope for their future together.

Shourd was freed almost exactly a year ago on medical grounds. Her release came a week before Ahmadinejad addressed the U.N. last year.

One analyst said the timing last year was no coincidence.

"I think President Ahmadinejad really wanted to use this as a way of building up a store of goodwill just before he comes to New York," Columbia University Prof. Gary Sick said last year after Shourd came home.

The Americans say they accidentally crossed into Iran when they veered off a dirt road while hiking near a tourist site in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. They denied the charges and appealed the sentence while serving time in prison.

Ahmadinejad said last week that the release of Fattal and Bauer was imminent, setting off a roller coaster ride of expectations.

The judiciary shot back that only it could make decisions about their release.

An Omani official flew to Iran on September 14 to help work on any negotiation, a Western diplomat told CNN at the time.

CNN's Elise Labott, Mohammed Jamjoom, Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Richard Roth, Mitra Mobasherat and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

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Israel faces 'regional tsunami' set off by Arab Spring

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, set to speak Friday at the United Nations, faces a much changed region.Palestinian Authority's U.N. statehood bid dramatically raising stakes, officials say Over the past year, Israel has witnessed a "tsunami" of change in the regionIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to address the U.N. General Assembly

(CNN) -- When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets ready to address the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, he will look out at some not-so-familiar faces. The neighborhood has changed since last year's global gathering, and Israel faces multiple challenges as a consequence of the unfinished business known as the Arab Spring.

Israel's closest partner in the Arab world, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, is now on trial. The military council that replaced him has distanced itself from Israel and allowed space to popular opposition to the peace treaty between the two countries. While Israel sheds no tears about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's problems, it is apprehensive about what might follow should unrest eventually unseat him. Instability in Syria would inevitably spill into Lebanon, where Hezbollah has tens of thousands of missiles aimed at Israel.

A once close relationship with Turkey is in tatters. And now the Palestinian Authority is dramatically raising the stakes over stalled negotiations on a peace settlement by looking to the United Nations to win statehood.

Six months ago, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned a diplomatic tsunami was headed in Israel's direction. He told the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv that the Palestinian plan for recognition was an attempt to push Israel into the same corner that apartheid South Africa once occupied.

Barak also said that the Israeli government must come up with its own diplomatic initiative to counter such a move -- and be ready to tackle core issues, including security, borders, refugees and Jerusalem. In oblique criticism of his own government, he said that "for the last two years we haven't tried to put the core issues on the table." But there has been no progress on any of them, nor indeed any negotiations, since Barak made that speech.

In an interview with CNN last month, Barak suggested the tsunami had become much more ominous for Israel. "Egypt is under major transition. The Saudis are kind of occupied -- I don't know how to call it -- in their place. Iran is hostile and a major threat to the whole stability, and we don't have to add Turkey into this array of uneasy choices," he said.

But as Barak acknowledges, Turkey is now firmly added to that array, and given its growing influence and economic clout in the region, that's an unwelcome development for Israel. Not so long ago, the two countries were staging joint military maneuvers and had a fast-developing diplomatic and economic relationship.

Then came the incident when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara, a ship chartered by a Turkish nongovernmental organization taking supplies to Gaza, after repeated warnings it would not be allowed to complete its journey. Nine Turkish activists on board were killed. Turkey was furious; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused its demand for an apology for "operational mistakes" -- a formula worked out by months of U.S.-led diplomacy. Since then, diplomats have been expelled, angry words exchanged between Israel and Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Israel as "the West's spoiled child." One of Israel's main partners in the Muslim world is no longer answering the phone.

This week Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu laid the blame exclusively at Israel's door while waxing lyrical about Ankara's burgeoning relationships with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. "Nobody can blame Turkey or any other country in the region for its isolation," he told The New York Times.

Israel's relationship with Egypt, one of two Arab countries with which it has a peace treaty, is also less amicable. The military council now preparing the country for elections has allowed popular antipathy toward Israel to express itself, and according to a poll this year carried out by the Pew Trust, Egyptians wanted the peace treaty annulled by a margin of 54% to 36%. Even Egypt's caretaker prime minister has suggested the treaty is at risk. Speaking to a Turkish television network, Essam Sharaf said: "The Camp David agreement is not a sacred thing and is always open to discussion with what would benefit the region and the case of fair peace ... and we could make a change if needed."

Border security has deteriorated, with Egyptian military officials acknowledging to CNN that al Qaeda and Salafist terror groups have established a presence in the Sinai desert. In August, a jihadist group based in Gaza used Egyptian territory to attack Israeli civilian targets in Negev -- killing eight civilians. Israeli troops mistakenly killed five Egyptian border guards while in pursuit of the terror cell. Days later, angry protesters overran the Israeli Embassy in Cairo. The entire staff was hastily withdrawn after U.S. President Barack Obama personally intervened with the Egyptians to secure their safe passage. It was a sequence of events that rapidly plunged relations between the Israeli and Egyptian governments into crisis.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which wants the peace treaty with Israel torn up, is gaining strength in Egypt. In an August speech in Cairo's Tahrir Square, preacher Safwat Hegazi of the Brotherhood proclaimed: "We will show them anger."

Egypt's ruling military council does not share Mubarak's visceral animosity toward Iran, and it allowed two Iranian navy vessels to transit the Suez Canal.

Israel's relations with Jordan, where nearly half the population is Palestinian, have also deteriorated. On Wednesday, King Abdullah of Jordan told the U.N. General Assembly that "frustrations are at a peak. Even as we speak Israeli settlement activity is ongoing." The king told The Wall Street Journal this week there was increasing frustration among Jordanians because Israelis have been "sticking their heads in the sand and pretending there isn't a problem."

Jordan's alienation does worry some Israelis. Amos Gilad, director of policy and political-military affairs at Israel's Defense Ministry, said peace with Jordan must be preserved. "(It) gives Israel strategic depth, and peace with them is so valuable it's out of the imagination to describe living without it," he told CNN. Earlier this month, Israel called home staff from its embassy in Amman for a day -- fearing that a planned anti-Israel protest could turn violent. On that day, Israel suddenly had no envoy in Cairo, Ankara or Amman. (The envoy to Jordan has since returned to his post.)

The Israeli government is also concerned the unrest in Syria may ultimately threaten that country's integrity -- leading to sectarian conflict among Sunnis, Alawites and Kurds. Israel would of course welcome problems for Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which receive support from Damascus. But the al-Assad dynasty has at least guaranteed a stable border for nearly 40 years (despite saber-rattling rhetoric). It is "the devil you know." The prospect of Islamists gaining greater influence in Syria or a sectarian meltdown are not better alternatives, Israeli officials said.

In the face of all these negative -- or at least unsettling -- developments, critics of Netanyahu say that his policy lacks urgency and dynamism. Barak Ravid, diplomatic correspondent of the left-leaning daily Haaretz, told CNN: "Right now the only strategy is no strategy. ... The Israeli answer will be no: no to the Security Council, no to the General Assembly, and no to any resolution that will include any kind of statement that will include Palestinian statehood."

While insisting he is ready for direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu said this week it had "consistently evaded peace negotiations with Israel. When the Palestinian Authority will abandon these futile and unilateral measures at the U.N., it will find Israel to be a genuine partner for direct peace negotiations."

Barak, speaking this week on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight," had a subtly different spin. "It's up to us and mainly to our counterpart, the Palestinian leadership, Abu Mazen (Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) and (Salam) Fayyad (the Palestinian prime minister) and others, to shoulder the burden of leadership and start to move."

For now, ordinary Israelis are not feeling the consequences of this fast changing environment. The Israeli Defense Ministry's Gilad said that despite the diplomatic and political uncertainty Israel was "living in the best security conditions ever," noting that the number of terror attacks was low -- and that tensions notwithstanding the peace with Egypt "is still stable."

Barak said it's not the moment to be complacent. "You cannot just close your eyes, say the Lord is with us, and you cannot say, 'OK, nothing could be done,' " he told Piers Morgan.

"We have to be active. We shouldn't be paralyzed like a rabbit under the lights."

September 20, 2011 -- Updated 1806 GMT (0206 HKT) CNN's Tim Lister breaks down the Palestinian vote for statehood and what it could mean for the U.S. September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0049 GMT (0849 HKT) The Palestinians have indicated that they will formally ask the United Nations for recognition of "Palestine" as a new member state.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0943 GMT (1743 HKT) As a package is developed to avoid a showdown over Palestinian statehood, Obama and Abbas plan to meet.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0954 GMT (1754 HKT) Rarely has so much time and energy been devoted to an issue less consequential than the Palestinian bid for statehood, Aaron David Miller writes.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0117 GMT (0917 HKT) The Mideast peace process is stalled and the U.S. faces the possibility of having to veto a U.N. resolution on Palestinian statehood. How did it get to this point? September 20, 2011 -- Updated 1920 GMT (0320 HKT) CNN's Wolf Blitzer takes a look at America's role in the struggle for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0049 GMT (0849 HKT) Nabil Saeed lays out large rolls of red, green, white and black cloth on his workshop table. These are the colors of his homeland, one he hopes will soon become a fully recognized state. Today's five most popular stories

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Tropical Storm Ophelia forecast to slowly weaken

NEW: Ophelia's winds slip to 50 mphOphelia could disintegrate over the next 48 hoursThe storm is not currently threatening land

Miami (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Ophelia weakened late Thursday as it continued its trek across the central Atlantic, forecasters said.

The system could degenerate further over the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Ophelia had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph late Thursday night, with gusts of up to 65 mph, the center said.

The storm was about 820 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands and was moving west at 12 mph, forecasters said. The five-day forecast map shows the system staying north of the Caribbean.

"A turn toward the northwest and a slight increase in forward speed is expected on Friday," according to the hurricane center. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect.

Tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph extended outward up to about 260 miles from Ophelia's center, the hurricane center said.

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Ex-Afghanistan leader assassinated

Afghan official killed by bomberNEW: ISAF commander says the face of the peace initiative has been attacked NATO says 2 suicide bombers carried out the attack; Afghan authorities described one Four people were wounded in the attack, a police spokesman says

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- An Afghan political figure considered vital to peace efforts in the country was assassinated Tuesday, officials said.

Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former Afghan president who had been leading the Afghan peace council, was killed in an attack at his home.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said two suicide bombers, "feigning a desire to conduct reconciliation talks, detonated themselves."

Afghan officials earlier said there was one bomber.

The attacker hid the explosive device inside his turban, said Hasmat Stanikzai, spokesman for Kabul police.

An Afghan intelligence source told CNN that the bomber arrived at the house at the same time a meeting was due to take place between Rabbani and a delegation representing the Taliban insurgency.

Stanikzai said the bomber claimed to be a Taliban member who had come for the talks about peace and reconciliation, and detonated the explosives as he entered the home.

Four other people were wounded, including Masoom Stanikzai, a key adviser to Rabbani, the police spokesman said.

A doctor at a 400-bed hospital in Kabul said, "We have received three people from the blast at Rabbani's house. Among the injured are Masoom Stanikzai, one bodyguard and an assistant" to Rabbani.

Rabbani was long considered crucial to Afghan and coalition efforts to bring Taliban leaders into the reconciliation process.

He was also heading the United National Front Party, the largest political party that stands in opposition to President Hamid Karzai.

Karzai called Rabbani's killing a "very tragic loss" for his country.

Speaking at the United Nations in New York, Karzai described Rabbani as "an Afghan patriot" who "has sacrificed his life for the sake of Afghanistan and for the peace of our country."

"We will miss him very much," Karzai said.

Karzai cut short his time at the United Nations. His office said he would return to Afghanistan in the wake of the killing.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said of the violence in Afghanistan, including Rabbani's assassination, "We know that is the campaign the insurgents are on. We've got to adjust to that and protect the leaders.

"Someone is going to have to step in very quickly because that is a critical part of the peace process," Mullen said of Rabbani's role. The killing represents the strategy of the Taliban to assassinate as many leaders as possible, Mullen said.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the assassination "an attack on the Afghan people as they begin to take their country's security in their own hands."

"To those who offer only death and destruction to the Afghan people, our message is clear: You will not prevail," he said in a statement.

Gen. John R. Allen, commander of ISAF, said the "face of the peace initiative has been attacked."

"This is another outrageous indicator that, regardless of what Taliban leadership outside the country say, they do not want peace, but rather war," Allen said in a statement.

The loud explosion heard in the attack on the home prompted temporary lockdowns at the nearby U.S. Embassy and ISAF headquarters as officials investigated the source of the blast.

Personnel at the U.S. Embassy were instructed to take cover late Tuesday afternoon due to an incident outside the embassy's perimeter, an embassy spokesman said.

"It appears at this time that the embassy was not the target of the incident," spokesman Gavin Sundwall said in a statement. "We are working to account for all embassy personnel and staff."

ISAF headquarters was on lockdown for about 30 minutes, an ISAF spokesman said.

People at the headquarters heard a couple of deep booms followed by sirens, the spokesman said.

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