Taliban militants fired rockets near Afghan President Hamid Karzai in an apparent assassination attempt in central Afghanistan yesterday, but the missiles fell far from their target and no one was hurt, officials and witnesses said.

 

The attack happened as violence elsewhere in the country left 47 suspected militants, two police and an Afghan soldier dead.

 

Karzai was giving a speech to the elders and residents of Andar district in Ghazni province when rockets were fired nearby, said Ali Shah Ahmadzai, provincial police chief. No one was wounded in the attack, he said.

 

Witnesses said they heard between three and six rockets, but the Taliban claimed it fired off 12.

 

The rockets missed their target, with two of them landing some 200 meters away from the crowd, said Arif Yaqoubi, a local reporter attending the event. Karzai paused briefly before continuing with his speech, calling on those gathered to remain calm, Yaqoubi said.

 

A statement from Karzai's office said three rockets were fired, but they "fell far away from the gathering place, and there were no casualties."

 

After finishing his speech, Karzai's security personnel whisked him off into a helicopter and back to Kabul, witnesses and officials said.

 

Purported Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said Taliban militants were behind the attack.

 

"The Taliban knew that Karzai was coming to Andar district. When Karzai was meeting with the people, the Taliban fired 12 rockets," Ahmadi said by satellite phone from an undisclosed location. "The rockets fell nearby."

 

The Taliban watched the area for an hour after the attack as ambulances and helicopters patrolled, Ahmadi said, adding that he did not know how many people were wounded or killed.

 

Yaqoubi said six rockets were fired nearby as Karzai was telling people gathered at a school yard in Andar about government projects to build roads and clinics.

 

"He briefly stopped his speech, and the people were concerned and worried," Yaqoubi said. "But then Karzai continued by saying, 'Calm down and don't worry."'

 

In northwestern Afghanistan, meanwhile, militants attacked three separate posts on Saturday in Murghab district of Badghis province, sparking a six-hour long battle that left 20 suspected Taliban and two police killed, said provincial police chief General Mohammad Ayub Naizyar.

 

Police repelled the attack and sent reinforcements to the area, forcing the militants to withdraw, Naizyar said.

 

In southern Zabul province, NATO and Afghan troops clashed with militants and called in airstrikes, leaving 27 suspected Taliban insurgents dead in the district of Shinkay.

 

(China Daily June 11, 2007)