Militants Blow Themselves Up After Kabul Standoff

Five suspected Taliban militants blew themselves up in Afghanistan today, after the house they were holed up in was surrounded by security forces.

The explosion followed a gun battle between the militants and government forces in Kabul's old city.

The militants blew themselves up to avoid capture, an Afghan interior ministry official told Reuters.

Security forces surrounded a house where the suspected militants were holed up during the night and clashes erupted.

Interior ministry spokesman Zemerai Bashary described the militants as "terrorists."

A spokesman for the Afghan intelligence service, Saeed Ansari, said the troops had wanted to capture the suspects alive.

Families fled from their homes as security forces closed in on the militants.

The clash followed a failed attempt by the Taliban on Sunday to assassinate President Hamid Karzai during a military parade. Six people died in the attack, including three of the Taliban assailants.

The chief of the intelligence service, Amrullah Saleh, said yesterday that his agency knew about the threat to the president but failed to locate the plotters in time.