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Militants attack Afghan president, kills 3 others (bigaltherealone)
Posted: 3:20:39 pm on 4/27/2008 Modified: Never
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Courtesy of the International Herald Tribune
An artillery salute pounded the air Sunday, almost drowning out the initial, sporadic gunshots fired by militants.
At first, President Hamid Karzai and other dignitaries appeared oblivious they were under attack as they stood for the national anthem at a ceremony marking the 16th anniversary of the end of Soviet-backed rule in Afghanistan.
Two American soldiers pointed to some nearby houses where the shots appeared to come from, but resumed their salute as the anthem faded out.
But as the automatic gunfire intensified and rockets hit close to the stands where the VIPs were assembled, panic broke out.
Hundreds of people, including Afghan police and soldiers in the honor guard, suddenly dived for cover. Two lawmakers hit by bullets slumped out of their seats. Karzai was hustled away by bodyguards and sped off to the presidential palace.
Taliban militants who claimed responsibility for the attack had missed their target but killed three other others and wounded eight, including three soldiers. The assault sent foreign ambassadors scurrying for cover, underscoring the fragile grip of his U.S.-backed government.
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 injury. A U.S. Embassy official confirmed U.S. Ambassador William Wood was unharmed.
Residents reported that a 30-minute gunbattle then 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. He said three soldiers were among the wounded.
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 bombing was reported.
Less than two hours after the assault, 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.
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 TV 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 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 hit after the president had left, about 50 yards away.
Continued
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