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Bullets flew past president: Afghan minister describes attack
Kabul (AFP) April 27, 2008 Bullets sped past President Hamid Karzai and black smoke and the smell of gunpowder filled the air when militants struck Afghanistan's most important military parade Sunday, a minister told AFP. Gunfire and explosions erupted soon after Karzai had taken his place on a stage with a host of dignitaries, including government ministers, ambassadors and foreign and Afghan military commanders. Health Minister Mohammad Amin Fatimie said he was seated just three metres (10 feet) from Karzai. "As soon as the first bullets hit, the president was covered by bodyguards," he said. "He was escorted out. I could see bullets ricocheting, black smoke, and I could smell gunpowder," he said. "At first I couldn't, actually no one could, figure out what had happened," Fatimie recalled. "The security guards told everyone to lie down and we did." The minister said he saw an explosion directly in front of the platform on which the dignitaries were seated. "As the bullets were hitting the stage, I saw something -- most likely a rocket-propelled grenade -- land and explode in front of the stage," Fatimie said. Two people, possibly security guards, were wounded, he said. The roughly 3,000 security personnel preparing for the parade broke from their formations in panic as the several hundreds guests fled. Scattered gunfire was heard about 15 minutes afterwards, an AFP reporter said. Karzai was unscathed by the latest in a string of close shaves since he became the first leader of a post-Taliban administration. However three people, including an MP and a tribal chief, were killed and more than a dozen hurt. Fatimie said many of the wounded were evacuated in private cars because ambulances could not enter the area. "It was a very serious and dangerous attack but thank God the casualties were very low," he said. In a live television address just an hour after the attack, Karzai said security forces had been able to arrest some of the attackers but he gave no details. Even as the drama was unfolding, a spokesman for the extremist Taliban telephoned media to claim responsibility saying the strike was to "show to the world that we can attack anywhere we want to." Related Links News From Across The Stans
Turkish army confirms air raid, shelling in northern Iraq
Ankara (AFP) April 26, 2008Turkish warplanes and artillery have targeted Kurdish rebels in neighbouring northern Iraq this weekend, the Turkish army said on Saturday. |
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