Karzai Survives Assassination Bid at Parade

President Hamid Karzai survived an assassination attempt yesterday when Taliban militants fired gunshots and rockets at a military parade in central Kabul. Three people, including an MP, were killed.

Cabinet ministers, generals and foreign diplomats ducked for cover after shots rang out at the heavily guarded ceremony near the presidential palace. Bodyguards bundled Karzai away and into a convoy of black jeeps that sped away.

Live coverage on state television showed two turbaned MPs slumped in their seats, one about 30 meters from Karzai. One died later, as did a minority leader and a 10-year-old girl.

Television coverage was cut as rockets exploded in a nearby street. Uniformed bandsmen and some soldiers joined hundreds of others scrambling to safety.

Karzai appeared on television less than an hour later, reassuring Afghans he was alive and appealing for calm.

The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the attack disproved Nato claims that the insurgency was weakening. The assassination attempt was the third since 2001 and the first in Kabul.

Among the foreign officials in the stand were the US and British ambassadors and General Dan McNeill, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan. All escaped unhurt.