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KABUL, Afghanistan - Militants firing rockets and automatic rifles
attacked the Afghan president at a ceremony in Kabul on Sunday,
missing their target but killing three and wounding eight others.
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The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault that sent President
Hamid Karzai and foreign ambassadors scurrying for cover, underscoring
the fragile grip of his U.S.-backed government.
Gunmen opened fire as a 21-gun salute echoed over the capital at an
anniversary ceremony to mark the mujahedeen victory over the Soviet
occupation of Afghanistan.
Hundreds of people, including army and police that had formed an honor
guard inspected by Karzai minutes earlier, fled in chaos as shots rang
out. The president was hustled away, surrounded by bodyguards, and
left in a convoy of four black SUVs.
The gunfire apparently came from a three-story guesthouse, popular
with migrant laborers, about 300 yards from the stands where Karzai
was seated alongside Cabinet ministers and senior diplomats, who all
escaped unharmed. A U.S. Embassy official confirmed U.S. Ambassador
William Wood was also not hurt.
A lawmaker who was about 30 yards from the president was killed in the
attack.
Residents reported that a 30-minute gunbattle broke out between
security forces and gunmen holed up in the guesthouse, located in a
neighborhood of ruined mud brick buildings.
Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak said three attackers were
killed by security forces, and assault rifles and machine guns were
confiscated.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said six militants were deployed
to target the president, and three of those militants died in the
attack. He said they were armed with guns, rockets and suicide vests
although no suicide bombings were reported.
The initial moments of the attack, which came as a marching band
played the finale of the national anthem, were broadcast live until TV
transmissions were cut. Hundreds of dignitaries could be seen diving
for cover. Two lawmakers were hit by the gunfire. One of the men
slumped back in his seat, while the other lay on the ground.
Less than two hours later, Karzai appeared on state-run TV and said
"everything is OK."
Appearing calm, Karzai said "the enemy of Afghanistan" tried to
disrupt the ceremony but was thwarted by security forces. He said
several suspects were arrested and smiled as he signed off his brief
recorded statement.
About 100 people were rounded up for questioning, an Afghan
intelligence official said on condition of anonymity because he was
not authorized to speak to media.
Associated Press reporters saw a half dozen people, who appeared to be
migrant laborers from northern Afghanistan, sitting in the back of a
police van outside the guesthouse, which was pocked with bullet holes.
Windows were smashed, and police barred the reporters from entering.
The militant attack, the first in the capital since mid-March, came
despite unprecedented tight security for Sunday's celebrations. In
January, three Taliban suicide attackers hit Kabul's upscale Serena
Hotel, killing eight people, including an American.
For days Kabul was ringed by checkpoints with security forces and
plainclothes intelligence officials searching vehicles. The area where
the ceremonies took place had been blocked by troops, tanks and
armored personnel carriers, and was closed to the general public.
The live coverage of the assassination attempt will add to the sense
of insecurity in the Afghan capital, which has been spared the worst
of the violence as fighting has escalated between Taliban insurgents
and NATO and U.S.-led forces.
The fighting left about 8,000 dead last year, mostly militants in the
south and east of the country, where Karzai's government has only a
tenuous grip and little public support.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer joined several foreign
leaders, including some from neighboring Pakistan, in condemning
Sunday's attack.
"The Taliban has demonstrated once again that they will use the most
extreme violence to oppose Afghanistan's freedom and democratic
development," de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement.
The presidency said Nasir Ahmad Latefi, a local Shiite leader, and a
10-year boy died in the attack. Lawmaker Fazel Rahman Samkanai died of
his injuries at a hospital, Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad
Zahir Azimi said.
Taliban spokesman Mujaheed said the insurgents had managed to
penetrate the security cordon and reach the national stadium near the
parade area where the event was held.
He said BM-12 missiles — a crude rocket launched from a small platform
— were used in the attack. He spoke to an AP reporter by phone from an
undisclosed location.
Mohammad Saleh Saljoqi, a lawmaker at the ceremony, said there was
continuous AK-47 fire, and one rocket, which he described as a rocket-
propelled grenade, hit inside the Eid Gah mosque opposite where Karzai
was sitting. Another rocket struck after the president had already
left, about 50 yards away.
Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since soon after a U.S.-led invasion
ousted the Taliban regime in 2001, has escaped several assassination
attempts.
His narrowest escape since he became president came in September 2002
when a gunman opened fire at close quarters as he visited the southern
city of Kandahar. Three people, including the gunman, died in that
attack.