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)